RALEIGH — Campbell Law School’s Gailor Family Law Litigation Clinic is one of two recent recipients of the Wake County Bar Association (WCBA) Foundation‘s Community Grants program.
“In line with our mission of being ‘lawyers serving our community by promoting justice,’ we desire to support local nonprofits or projects who are on the ground addressing access to justice issues,” the WCBA Foundation website states.
The $30,000 grant will help the clinic continue to grow the amount of services it provides, according to Clinic Director Richard Waugaman III ’12.
“What we have found is that the need is just enormous,” he said. “This grant is so needed and so helpful because it enables us to do more of what we are doing.”
The clinic, which opened in August 2021, provides representation and legal serves to indigent members living in Wake County.
“It’s very rewarding,” Waugaman continues in a video released by the WCBA Foundation. “The thing I see more than anything with the clients is relief in knowing there is reason for optimism versus feeling so stuck and unable to move forward with their lives and maximize their own potential.
“Ideally we wouldn’t need a clinic because everyone would be able to afford legal services, but that is not reality. We are trying to step into a gap that exists right now and help and fill in as much as possible. With this grant, we are going to be able to continue grow the amount of services that we provide … and maximize our resources.”
Watch the WCBA Foundation video to learn more at this link.
The clinic addresses challenging family law issues including divorce, paternity, child custody and child support among other family law issues where it is often difficult to find representation for low-income individuals. The needs assessment completed in 2021 by the Chief Justice’s Commission on Access to Justice found this to be the greatest area of unmet need for legal services among North Carolinians of modest resources.
While working in the clinic, students learn a client-centered approach to the practice of family law by engaging in client counseling, case strategy, negotiation and, if necessary, assist with trial of family law cases under the “Student Practice Rule.” The clinic also provides students with the opportunity to work on various types of family law cases with several different clients during their semester in the clinic and beyond.
Learn more about the clinic at this link.
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 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2024, Campbell Law celebrated 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.