RALEIGH — Campbell Law School has been ranked among the 25 most innovative law schools in the Winter 2022 edition of preLaw Magazine.
Campbell Law, which was recognized for its innovation in legal technology, was the lone North Carolina institution to be featured on the list. The list was broken down into three categories: diversity, equity and inclusion; legal technology; and new and expanded programs.
In the past few years there has been an emphasis on legal innovation and how technology is used to provide legal services to improve access to justice from virtual pro bono legal clinic opportunities to conducting depositions on Zoom. “It’s eliminated the geographical boundaries,” John Tsiforas, director of law and technology at Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, told preLaw Magazine. “It allows students to collaborate where they otherwise wouldn’t be able to, and eliminate economic barriers.”
The Campbell Law Innovation Institute (CLII) aims to develop knowledge and teaches about the challenges that new technologies pose to society, including the practice of law. The CLII is focused on issues that inevitably come when using advanced technologies while performing legal services. The advanced technologies include artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and quantum computing. With the mission of promoting the use of ethical AI through a data-driven, human-centered approach. Students work in collaboration with technologists, business leaders and other professionals in developing projects.
“I think the pandemic encouraged adoption of convenience technologies, particularly video conferencing, of course,” said Professor Kevin Lee, founding director of the CLII. “But, the next generation of legal technology will begin to radically alter the traditional elements of legal practice.
“What has historically been a siloed, proprietary method of providing legal services is giving way to a new, increasingly flexible, commoditized and interdisciplinary approach that is forcing lawyers to rethink the ways they approach legal problems,” Lee continued. “The Innovation Institute is Campbell Law School’s foothold on the future of legal education. It will generate knowledge about how advanced information technology is changing the nature and practice of law and the moral and legal issues concerning its responsible development.”
The CLII received initial funding through a generous gift from the Dennis and Alisa Wicker family. “The Innovation Institute is a giant step forward for Campbell Law School,” said Dennis Wicker. “It is also another tribute to Dean J. Rich Leonard’s leadership and Professor Lee’s vision for enhancing the academics of the school. More importantly, this will be a game-changing experience for students.”
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 more than 4,200 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2021, Campbell Law celebrated 45 years of graduating legal leaders and a dozen years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.