RALEIGH — Campbell Law School’s competitive trial advocacy program has once again been graded as one of the best in the country by preLaw Magazine in its Winter 2024 issue.
The accolade marks Campbell Law’s seventh consecutive appearance on the annual list since 2017. Campbell Law received a graded score of A again this year and is the only law school in North Carolina to make this year’s list. The complete list is available online at this link.
“I am delighted to once again see our name on the ‘A’ list of Trial Advocacy Schools, and to be the only school in North Carolina on the list,” said Dean J. Rich Leonard. “Advocacy is our hallmark. Our graduates are ready to perform and lead from the moment they pass the bar exam. Our hands-on curriculum and culture deserve recognition for the results they produce.”
Campbell Law has also been recognized as a leader in advocacy by U.S. News, Fordham’s Trial Competition Rankings and Hofstra Law School’s GAVEL Rankings. Accolades include one world championship, 12 national championships, 10 regional titles and two Top Gun champions, among others.
Inside the classroom, Campbell Law has a tradition of training lawyers to be persuasive advocates for their respective clients. Standing behind the commitment to advocacy teaching is the premise that every lawyer will advocate for something in her or his role as an attorney-counselor.
“One of the secrets to Campbell Law’s success is advocacy training that begins in students’ first year and continues throughout each of the three successive semesters in which students are enrolled,” says Mary Ann Matney ’17, director of the law school’s Competitive Advocacy Program. “We take great pride in the legal community being able to recognize Campbell Lawyers by their professionalism and preparedness in the courtroom.”
Advocacy training continues in the second and third years with required courses in Evidence and Trial Advocacy, and an array of upper-level electives tailored to civil, criminal and alternative dispute practices.
Another contributor to the advocates’ competitive success is the G. Eugene Boyce Center of Advocacy, which was established in September 2015 with an $8 million-plus gift. The center comprises three competitive courtrooms, conference rooms, and a suite of adjoining offices. More than $500,000 in start-of-the-art technology upgrades have been added to the center since it opened.
“Campbell Law is committed to training each and every student in courtroom advocacy,” Matney continued. “Our required curriculum puts students through the rigors of procedure, evidence, and trial advocacy so that every single Campbell lawyer is prepared to walk into any courtroom with skill and confidence and zealously represent their clients.”
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW
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 nearly 5,000 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.