RALEIGH — More than 300 law students and employers participated in Campbell Law School’s Career Center annual Career Night on Nov. 10, 2025.
Career Night is a large-scale networking event designed to introduce first-year law students to attorneys from multiple practice settings and areas in the broader legal community, explained Assistant Dean of Career and Professional Development Mallory Underwood.
“This is a very special evening, and really the only night like it all year, where we get to bring all of our students and present them to the legal community and give them an opportunity to see how phenomenal both our practicing bar and also our alumni are,” she explained. “It’s their first introduction in many ways, and it really sets the stage for a high level of professionalism and the civility and positive, warm community elements that the Campbell Law community is known for.”
For the second year, the Career Center’s signature event was held in downtown Raleigh’s Union Station and featured more than 50 employers.
More than 200 students, including some second- and third-year law students, had the opportunity to meet more than 90 attorneys in the broader legal community for an evening of networking and relationship building.
Dean J. Rich Leonard in his welcome remarks discussed the law school’s success, noting a 95% first-time July bar exam pass rate for 176 takers, with only one not earning a score under the Uniform Bar Exam that allows him/her to be licensed in some jurisdiction.
“As a dean, you really only have two major jobs,” he explained. “You have to recruit and admit a qualified class in a number sufficient to pay the bills, and on the other end, you have to make sure when they get out, they get credentialed and they find gainful employment … It is more true than ever that a Campbell Law degree is the path to any career you desire, as evidenced by the diversity of employers that have joined us tonight. We are on a roll.”
Keynote speaker Shelby Benton ‘85, a renowned family law attorney and founder of the Benton Family Law firm in Goldsboro, emphasized the significance of relationships in her 40-year legal career.
“I decided I would share with you what I believe to be the foundation of both a successful legal career and a successful life,” she said. “You can build your career in a big city or a small town. You can be a trial lawyer. Can be a transactional lawyer. You can work in house, or you can work with your law degree in the corporate world or in the government arena. The possibilities are just limitless. But regardless of the path you decide to take, the key to building a successful legal career and a meaningful life is cultivating and maintaining relationships. Folks, many of you have already built relationships that helped you to get to where you are today. Remember each one of those. You’ll need them throughout your career in ways you often can’t even imagine.”
Benton shared personal anecdotes and advised students to continue to build connections, consider a small-town practice and find passion in their work.
“In order to have well being and longevity in your profession, you need to make sure that you find something you enjoy doing,” she explained. “As Maya Angelou said, you can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, find something you love doing and then do it so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you, and … you will become accomplished if you do that, and if you couple that with building relationships, then you will really become successful in your career and in life. Tonight, as all of you engage with all these potential employers, remember, you might be meeting them for the first time, but it most likely won’t be your last. Engage authentically, be yourself. Think of each of them as people who will develop you in some way over the years to come.”
Benton concluded her remarks by adding, “When people see that I’m a Campbell lawyer, it means so much more now, 40 years later, because of the success of everyone that has come after me. So I’m looking to all of you to continue to make that name just as successful. You’re going to set the world on fire. Work on relationships, consider a small-town practice, find your passion. And show up. Always show up.”
The event was generously sponsored by Lawyers Mutual Inc.
“Thank you to our fantastic sponsor Lawyers Mutual, which is a huge part of us being able to provide this exceptional experience for all of you,” Underwood added. “Without this type of support, it would be difficult to put on events like this. So we are very grateful for all the ways that they invest in our Campbell Law community.”
Participating employers, many of which sent Campbell Law alumni representatives, included:
U.S. Marine JAG Corps Officer Program
North Carolina Court of Appeals – Chief Judge Dillon
North Carolina Supreme Court – Justice Allen
North Carolina Department of Justice
North Carolina General Assembly
North Carolina Real Estate Commission
North Carolina Chamber of Commerce
Disability Rights NC
Indigent Defense Services
Johnston County District Attorney’s Office
Legal Aid of NC
North Carolina Office of the Juvenile Defender
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of the Chief Counsel
Wake County Public Defender’s Office
Campbell University
Cisco Systems, INC.
Duke Energy
IQVIA
Lawyer’s Mutual
North Carolina State University
Syneos Health
Alston & Bird
Barnes & Thornburg, LLP
Brooks Pierce
Michael Best
Nelson Mullins
Ogletree Deakins
Poyner Spruill
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP
Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, PA
Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan, LLP
Smith Debnam
Ward and Smith, PA
Williams Mullen
Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton, LLP
Womble Bond
Cranfill Sumner
Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo LLP
McAngus Goudelock Courie (MGC Law)
Teague Campbell
Young Moore and Henderson
Benton Family Law
Gahagan Paradis
Gantt Family Law
Hutchens Law Firm
King Law Offices
Marcilliat & Mills, PLLC
McCuiston Law Offices
Owens Miller
Parks Zeigler
Rasmussen Law, PLLC
For more pictures from the event, visit Campbell Law’s Facebook page at this link.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law School has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law will celebrate 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.