RALEIGH – Campbell Law School students are known for being trailblazers, so it should come as no surprise to learn they have formed a student organization that is the first of its kind in the nation.
Caleb Fisher ‘26 and Pierce Shipway ‘26 have co-founded the American Bar Association Student Judicial Division (ABASJD).
With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association (ABA) is the largest voluntary professional organization in the world. There are many different chapters and student chapters of the ABA, but this is the first to be completely centered around the judicial division, according to organizers.
They hosted their inaugural event on Sept. 5, featuring Dean J. Rich Leonard and former Solicitor General Chris Browning, who shared the importance of the ABA, how to get connected with jobs within the judiciary and answered questions students had about how to get involved.
Shipway and Fisher were approached late last year by leadership within the ABA’s Judicial Division, who have helped the student leaders get the club organized.
During their first meeting, at which more than 50 law students attended, Shipway encouraged students to consider joining the new club at the ground level.
“One way of making sure this chapter is successful is to have a rush of new members joining today,” Browning said during the meeting.
Browning promised that in 10 years, the chapter will host a party celebrating its future accomplishments, inviting anyone who signs up now to join him at a later date.
Many current and former members of the ABA Judicial Division have come from North Carolina and have served in the division’s leadership roles, including former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin and Judge Julian Mann.
For more information or to join the organization, contact Fisher at csfisher0227@email.campbell.edu or Shipway at p_shipway0613@email.campbell.edu.
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 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.