RALEIGH — The Campbell Law Connections mentor program will wrap up another successful year of partnering current students with practicing legal professionals this week with an event at Vidrio on Tuesday, announced Assistant Dean of External Relations Megan Sherron ’10, who directs the Connections program.
Since 2013, Campbell Law Connections, which is a joint endeavor between the law school and the Wake County Bar Association, has worked with alumni to help provide students valuable learning opportunities and experiences.
“Our goal is to help mentees develop meaningful professional relationships and a more thorough understanding of the responsibilities and ethics demanded by the practice of law under the tutelage of a mentor,” Sherron explains. “Connections builds upon Campbell Law’s professionalism focus that permeates its core curriculum.”
Connections received a 2016 E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award from the American Bar Association. The award honors excellence and innovation in professionalism programs by law schools, bar associations, professionalism commissions and other law-related organizations. In selecting Connections, the Gambrell Award Judges and selection committee found the program to represent an exemplary law student and new lawyer mentoring program model, embracing best practices and effective strategies, as well as a model bar/law school partnership for others to follow.
Connections began with a pilot phase during the Spring 2014 semester with 40 third-year students and 10 newly-minted attorneys from the Tenth Judicial District Bar serving as mentees. Beginning with the Fall 2014 semester, the program opened to the entire third-year class, as well as more attorneys from the Tenth Judicial District Bar. Connections also expanded from one semester to the entire academic year. More than 100 established and seasoned practicing legal professionals have agreed to serve as mentors for the program.
All mentors are selected from the Tenth Judicial District Bar and include representation from solo practitioners, large-scale law firms, government-sector attorneys, in-house corporate counsel, non-profit counsel, and other practitioners, Sherron said.
“Mentors maintain regular contact with the program director to report on the development and status of the mentor/mentee relationship throughout the course of the program,” she added. “As we prepare to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Connections program, we wanted to highlight a just a few of our mentors and mentees.”
Mentor: Arista “Ari” Sibrey
Ari Sibrey graduated from Campbell Law in 2016 and is an attorney at The Clauson Law Firm in Durham where she practices Social Security Disability and Veterans Disability Law.
Q: Who is your mentee?
Q: What was your experience like as a mentee in the program?
A: I enjoyed being a mentee in the Campbell Connections program because I was able to see and experience some of the activities and functions in which attorneys are engaged. To be a law student getting a front-row seat to real life attorneys was both intimidating and inspirational. Seeing real attorneys made working hard and studying seem achievable and aspirational.
Q: How has the mentorship program helped you in your career?
A: I’m more open and willing to experience opportunities. While a mentee, I had the opportunity to shadow my mentor, Nan Hannah, at the annual Call 4All event. I am now on my second year as a committee member for that pro bono project. My mentor also serves on the committee. I know Nan is always willing to serve and I hope to be able to serve my community in a meaningful way as well.
Q: Why did you choose to become a mentor?
A: I became a mentor because I believe we all have experiences and trials that make us into better individuals. I think these experiences and trials provide us with valuable lessons that we can teach others. Being a mentor means I get to share these lessons with my mentee and help her as she navigates the journey that is law school, taking the bar and becoming a new attorney.
Q: How has the mentorship impacted you as a mentor?
A: It’s allowed me to become more confident in myself as a legal professional. There is being a lawyer, then there is sharing your journey and realizing you really did go through the challenges of law school and bar passage and survived.
Q: Do you think being a mentee has helped you become a better mentor?
A: I do. I think if I did not have a great example of how a mentorship is supposed to work, I would not have the tools to be a good mentor to my mentee.
Q: How is your relationship with your mentee?
A: Wonderful. We have met twice (so far) and she’s amazing. Once for coffee to meet and get to know one another. The other was when she joined me for a pro bono hour, answering questions on the “Ask A Lawyer” line. It was great introducing her to other attorneys who committed their time to help citizens of North Carolina with their legal issues. I think she really enjoyed the opportunity and look forward to our next activity.
Mentee: Wallace Driggers ’23
Wallace Driggers ’23 (she/they) is passionate about empathy and social justice issues in the legal profession, which is embodied in their choice to pursue a J.D. from Campbell Law School and a Master of Social Work (MSW) from N.C. State University as part of both schools dual-degree programs; their involvement on campus; and their internship at JusticeMatters. Driggers is the first student to enroll in the J.D./MSW program, according to Campbell Law Registrar Connie Shipman Newsome. Students in the program are required to complete a number of social work classes their first year at N.C. State before switching to law classes for the second year of the program.
Q: Why did you join the mentorship program?
A: I have never participated in a mentorship program before, and wanted to connect with local attorneys working in my fields of interest. Being a JD/MSW student, I was hoping to learn more about practice areas that integrate social work and law while building my professional network and learning more about what it means to be a young lawyer.
Q: How has the mentorship program helped you?
A: With Ari practicing Social Security disability law, I have already been able to hear about her experiences in an area of law that has a strong connection to social work. I have also enjoyed accompanying Ari to networking events hosted by the Wake County Bar Association, especially the pro bono service event we attended!
Q: How would you describe your relationship with your mentor?
A: Ari has been the most engaging and inviting mentor! She consistently checks in with me and asks me to join her for any event she thinks may be relevant to my interests. Ari is also extremely kind and generous with her time; I know I could go to her with any question I might have about law school, the bar exam or finding employment after graduation. I am very thankful that we were paired in this program.
Q: How is your relationship with your mentor different than with an employer?
A: With an employer, I typically set certain boundaries that separate much of my personal life from my professional endeavors. With Ari, we talk just as much about my weekend as we do my job prospects.
Q: Do you think your mentor being a former mentee has helped them in mentoring you?
A: I think Ari’s commitment to being a supportive mentor derives from her own experience as a mentee. She understands the importance of communication and has gone above and beyond to provide me with plenty of learning opportunities this semester. I can’t wait to see what next year holds!
Mentor: Zack Anstett ’18
A 2018 Campbell Law graduate, Zack Anstett is an Associate Attorney in Parker Poe’s Employment & Benefits Practice Group, where his practice is primarily focused on employment litigation in state and federal courts. He also regularly handles investigations at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Labor on behalf of employers across the country.
Q: Who is your mentee?
A: I am presently mentoring Genesis Torres ’23.
Q: What was your experience like as a mentee in the program?
A: It was really impactful for me. I don’t come from a family of lawyers, so being able to talk with a seasoned attorney in North Carolina provided me an invaluable perspective that I otherwise would not have had.
Q: How has the mentorship program helped you in your career?
A: Though this might not be typical, my mentor provided me an internship at his firm. I worked closely with one of the associate attorneys there who eventually lateraled to a different firm. That associate attorney contacted me years down the road about an opening doing the exact type of work that I wanted to be doing. After some interviewing, I am now employed with that same associate attorney at my current firm and I love it!
Q: Why did you choose to become a mentor?
A: I think it’s important to be a resource to the younger generation. Being able to answer questions in a safe and judgment free zone is something that should be made available to all law students. I have no other vested interest other than seeing my mentee’s success.
Q: How has the mentorship impacted you as a mentor?
A: It has allowed me to be more intentional in how I interact with law students and younger attorneys.
Q: Do you think being a mentee has helped you become a better mentor?
A: Unequivocally, yes. I’ve been in the shoes of someone who did not know how to apply to law firms, talk to recruiters, or interview with partners. It helps me be more humble and empathetic in the difficulties that 3Ls are facing, and I have firsthand experience on how to overcome those challenges.
Q: How is your relationship with your mentee(s)?
A: I think it’s great! I saw her compete in her Trial Advocacy competition in the Fall, and she knocked it out of the park. She is incredibly bright, hardworking, and is going to be an asset to the legal community.
Watch this video to learn more about the program. To become a mentor or a mentee, please contact Sherron at sherron@campbell.edu.
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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 4,700 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2024, Campbell Law is celebrating 45 years of graduating legal leaders and 15 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.