RALEIGH, N.C. –The Campbell Law School chapter of Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity has presented United States Bankruptcy Judge J. Rich Leonard with the Judge Robinson O. Everett Award for Legal Excellence. Judge Leonard, also a member of the Campbell Law Board of Visitors and adjunct professor at the law school, received the award at the Delta Theta Phi Fourth Annual Judge Robinson O. Everett Awards Gala and Campbell Law Professionalism Dinner at the Cardinal Club in downtown Raleigh on Nov. 13.
Whitney Stanley (left – Dean of Delta Theta Phi and third-year Campbell Law student), United States Bankruptcy Judge J. Rich Leonard (center), and Kenzie Rakes (right – Everett Gala Chair, and third-year Campbell Law student)
A photo gallery of the evening is available on the Campbell Law School Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/campbelllawschool.
More than 100 Campbell Law students, faculty, staff, and members of the legal community attended the gala, where members were able to engage in ethics dialogues and efforts on professionalism in the law community.
“Judge Leonard’s contributions to the legal profession, as well as his desire to educate young lawyers, are inspiring and admirable,” said Everett Gala Chair Kenzie Rakes. “We are delighted to present him with this honor.”
Recognized as one of the nation’s foremost judicial scholars on bankruptcy law and policy, Judge Rich Leonard has served the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina since 1992, standing as chief judge from 1998 -2005.
During his career, Judge Leonard has been a major participant in the development of the electronic case filing and public access programs of the federal courts. He is currently chairing the national task force to develop the requirements for the next generation of case management systems in the federal courts. He has also participated extensively in numerous judicial reform efforts in sub-Saharan Africa, traveling to that continent more than 30 times. He serves as the editor-in-chief of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, and teaches Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization at the law school. In 2011, the American Bar Association named Judge Leonard the recipient of the Robert M. Yegge Award, given to the judge or lawyer who has made the greatest contribution to judicial administration nationally.
In addition to the award presentation, attendees also participated in the Professionalism Dinner discussion led by Campbell Law Assistant Professor of Law Bobbi Jo Boyd. The event is made possible through The Keith Allison Law Ethics and Professionalism Endowment.
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Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. 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 3,400 alumni, including more than 2,400 who reside and work in North Carolina. For 26 years, Campbell Law’s overall record of success on the North Carolina Bar Exam has been unsurpassed by any other North Carolina law school. In September 2009, Campbell Law relocated to a state-of-the-art building in downtown Raleigh. For more information, visit http://law.campbell.edu.
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