RALEIGH — Campbell Law School awarded and recognized distinguished members of the law school community for their academic achievements and contributions at the 47th Annual Family Day Law Awards banquet, which was organized by the Student Bar Association (SBA) and held March 23 at the Sheraton City Center.
Marcus Gadson was named “Professor of the Year” following a vote of the student body. Finalists for this award include: Timothy Zinnecker, Suzanna Geiser, Erin Kenny, Johnny Chriscoe and Melissa Essary.
Gadson joined Campbell Law’s faculty on July 1, 2019. As a scholar, he focuses on state constitutions and civil procedure and he teaches courses in Civil Procedure, State Constitutional Law and Race, Justice and the Law. His scholarship has appeared in top-ranked journals including the Michigan Law Review, U.C.L.A. Law Review and Georgetown Law Journal. Professor Gadson’s students have voted him Professor of the Year and 1L Professor of the Year multiple times, and he received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching for the 2021–22 academic year.
Campbell Law SBA leaders also distributed a number of other student-voted awards to professors and staff at the banquet.
Erin Kenny, who gave the keynote at the banquet, was recognized as the “First-Year Professor of the Year.” Finalists included: Matt Sawchak, Johnny Chriscoe, Michael Kent, Lisa Lukasik and Lucas Osborn.
Kenny joined Campbell Law on Aug. 1, 2023, and served as a visiting professor during the 2022-23 academic year. Kenny teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Trial Advocacy. Kenny, who is a reservist in the United States Air Force, is the faculty adviser for the National Security – Military Law Students Association (NS-MLSA) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Legal Education Police Practices Consortium. She began serving as a Judge Advocate (JAG) in March 2011. Kenny has served as a prosecutor, a defense attorney and in several other various criminal law positions throughout her career.
Rick Glazier was recognized as the “Adjunct Professor of the Year.” Finalists included: Bryan Boyd, Josh Walthall, Paul Ridgeway ’86, Susan Dunn and Chris Dillon.
Krista Bordatto was awarded the “LRW Professor of the Year” award. Finalists included: Tom Patrick, La Toya Powell, Joshua Walthall and Laura Forrest.
Campbell Law also recognized pro bono leaders. The “Outstanding Pro Bono Student Award” was given to Kelly Chauvin Kamarenko, the “Outstanding Project in Pro Bono and Public Service Award” was awarded to the Campbell Law Innocence Project (CLIP) and the “Outstanding Pro Bono Professor Award” was awarded to Professor Jon Powell ’98, director of the Restorative Justice Clinic.
Campbell Law also recognized academic achievements at the banquet. Patrick M. Thurston earned the First-Year Academic Achievement Award for 2021-2022, Chase Freeman earned the Second-Year Academic Achievement Award for 2021-2022, Madelyn Bruckel was awarded the BARBRI Jane Perkinson Memorial Scholarship, Carrollyn Sierra was awarded the Kaplan PMBR Scholarship and Jaden Grimes was awarded the Themis Bar Review Scholarship.
Jesse Osborn was awarded the David Teddy Innovative Leadership Award, which is given annually to a Campbell Law student who demonstrates “a keen sense of leadership and service to the law school.” Finalists included: Cole Hallum, Will Sparks, Nikkia Jaques, Susannah Horton, Hannah Ingalls, Lucas Holder and Chelsea Lewis.
Campbell Law students also recognized Women in Law (WIL) as the “Student Organization of the Year.” Finalists included: Christian Legal Society, RESPECT, Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA), and the Student Bar Association (SBA).
Dema Adqudwah was given the J. Bryan Boyd Award for Excellence in Legal Journalism from the Campbell Law Observer.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW
Since its founding in 1986, 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 4,800 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.