Five Campbell Law alumni, professor named among 2023 ‘Leaders in the Law’

Photo of outside of the law school's Hillsborough Street entrance

RALEIGH — Five Campbell Law School alumni and a professor have been named among the N.C. Lawyers Weekly Class of 2023 “Leaders in the Law.”

Kristen L. Beightol ’01, Ryan Bolick ’99, Kris Hilscher ’08, Darrin Jordan ’90 and Scottie Forbes Lee ’14 and Professor Matt Sawchak are among the 24 winners of the annual award celebrating lawyers who set standards for other lawyers. They will be honored at a luncheon on April 20 at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley.

Beightol, who currently serves as the chair of the Campbell Law Alumni Association board, attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned a bachelor of arts in Journalism and Mass Communication in 1997. She has been a member of the Alumni Board since 2015. She is a founding partner at Edwards Beightol LLC in Raleigh. 

Prior to attending Campbell Law, Bolick attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he graduated with a bachelor of arts in English and Economics. He currently works at Cranfill Sumner LLP as a professional Liability Attorney and certified mediator.

Hilscher graduated from Hampden-Sydney College with a bachelor of arts in Political Science. While at Campbell Law, he served as the Campbell Law Observer’s Editor-in-Chief. He is currently an attorney at the Law Offices of Mark E. Sullivan P.A.

Jordan graduated from Catawba College in 1987 with a bachelor of arts in Political Science and Accounting before heading to Campbell Law School. He currently works at Whitley & Jordan where he is a junior partner.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Lee earned her Bachelor of Arts from North Carolina State University (NCSU). She then attended Campbell University, Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, where she earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2011. While pursuing her JD at Campbell  Law, she was also attending NCSU where she earned her Master of Public Administration (MPA) in 2014. She is a partner at Ellis & Winters LLP, where she started as an associate attorney in 2017.

Sawchak graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in Russian Studies. He later attended Duke University School of Law where he earned his J.D. with honors and an LL.M. Since 2011, he has served as a Practitioner in Residence at Campbell Law, where he focuses his scholarship on federalism in antitrust and trade regulation as well consumer protection and advises the Campbell Law Review. Before joining Robinson Bradshaw in 2020, Sawchak served as solicitor general of North Carolina from 2017 to 2020. He acted as lead counsel in the state’s highest-stakes civil appeals. In private practice as well, he has handled many cases involving government agencies — both as opponents and as clients. Sawchak focuses his practice on complex litigation, antitrust and appeals. He has argued at all levels of the federal and North Carolina court systems, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL

Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law School 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 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.