RALEIGH – Campbell Law School held its annual appreciation luncheon for scholarship donors and their recipients on Thursday, March 2. More than 100 donors, alumni, students, faculty and staff members attended the event, including numerous distinguished Campbell Law alumni and former faculty members.
Hosted by Dean J. Rich Leonard, the event’s invocation was given by Mary Catherine Coltrane ’23, a Gordon Rowland Scholarship recipient.
Leonard provided a brief overview of some of the law school’s recent achievements including a two-year ultimate bar passage rate of 95.6 percent. “We are now the third largest law school in the state,” he said. “Candidly we are bigger than we planned to be, we just had an unexpectedly enthusiastic response to our offers of admission last fall and we seated the most credentialed class during my 10 years as Dean.”
Leonard added, “Let me thank you for your help in making legal education more affordable for my students. Legal education is expensive especially for private schools. Thank you for everything you do for this lovely school and its students.”
The annual event is a significant one for the law school, as it provides an opportunity for scholarship donors and recipients to meet and interact, in many instances for the first time, including Tiqeece Brown ’23, who had the chance to spend time with his scholarship donor, Hoyt Tessener ’88.
The luncheon serves as a platform for fellowship, as well as celebrating the hard work of law students throughout the academic year and the foresight of Campbell Law donors.
Third-year student Corey Goss, who is a Cheshire Schneider Advocacy Scholarship recipient, talked about growing up in a legal desert in Roper, North Carolina, population 400, and wanting to represent people who look like him. “There was a frustration that no one knows the plight of the Eastern North Carolina pig farmer,” explained Goss, who is going to work with the Ricci Law Firm following graduation. “When I started law school, I knew I wanted to be in a courtroom east of I-95. I chose Campbell Law because I wanted a law school that would help me pass the bar exam and I wanted to do trial advocacy.”
He added, “My scholarship allowed me to go to law school. If you are a donor, the type of work you do and the generosity you provide allows people like me to help others. I am so thankful for your generosity.”
Another third-year student, Adia McLaughlin, is the recipient of the Fred L. and Alliene Fresh Taylor Scholarship and a native of Pinehurst, North Carolina. She said she chose Campbell Law because she knew she wanted to come back home to N.C. to practice law after earning her undergraduate degree at George Mason University in Virginia.
“I was working as a reporter in Washington, D.C., but I felt like I was missing something,” she explained. “I wanted to fix the problems I was reporting on. I realized God had a different purpose for me. I explored D.C. for law school but I decided to come back home so I could make it better. I also liked Campbell’s award-winning trial advocacy program
“I know it doesn’t come as a shock to you, but law school is expensive. Your donations help us focus on what we need to do in law school. I love the school’s generosity to students and the community,” she added. “I am here because of you and I thank you all for everything. Your generosity is motivational. I want to thank each of you for supporting us as we go out and lead with purpose.”
The scholarship luncheon photo gallery can be found on Campbell Law’s Facebook page at this link.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law 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 will celebrate 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.