RALEIGH — Campbell Law Assistant Professor Dan Tilly has been named the 2019 recipient of the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
Professor Tilly left private practice in Texas to join the Campbell Law faculty in 2011 as a full-time professor and the Director of Advocacy. He regularly teaches Evidence, Trial Advocacy, Advanced Legal Analysis to upper-level students, and Campbell Advantage to first-year students. He also routinely teaches independent studies to students and serves as a Campbell Law Review mentor.
“I am deeply honored to have been selected for this award,” he said. “I have a passion for teaching and training future lawyers that I try to bring into every class. It is a distinct honor to work among the exceptional people at Campbell University School of Law who are all committed to student success.”
In addition to his heavy teaching load, Professor Tilly has published multiple law review articles, the most recent critiquing aspects of North Carolina evidence law, and has coached more than 100 student advocates in mock trial and moot court competitions. During his time as the Director of Advocacy, the Campbell Law Advocacy Program has been ranked among the very best in the country by multiple publications and has won seven national championships in student advocacy competitions, including:
* 2019 ABA Client Counseling Competition
* 2019 NBLSA Constance Baker Motley National Trial Competition
* 2018 Capital City Challenge
* 2017 Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition
* 2016 South Texas Mock Trial Challenge
* 2015 South Texas Mock Trial Challenge
* 2013 South Texas Mock Trial Challenge
Professor Tilly is renowned for creating a learning environment that is demanding, engaging, and effective. He combines the intellectual rigor of an academic with the skills of a trial lawyer. He pushes his students to achieve their utmost and they are grateful for his high expectations, if sometimes terrified by the rigor of his classes. This reputation is reflected by the following comments reprinted from recent evaluations:
“Professor Tilly is an expert in his subject, and he has a clear passion for it,” wrote one student. “He is friendly, encouraging, accessible, and a great educator,” wrote another student, while another stated: “He is a fantastic teacher.”
Professor Tilly also is a productive scholar whose research is primarily focused on the law of evidence. His recent publications are Attacking Credibility for Character’s Sake: North Carolina’s Flawed Rule 609, 97 N.C. L. REV. __ (forthcoming, 2019); Adopted Statements in the Digital Age: Hearsay Responses to Social Media “Likes”, 93 N.D. L. REV. 277 (2018); and North Carolina’s Reincarnated Joint Tenancy: Oh Intent, Where Art Thou?, 93 N.C. L. REV. 1649 (2015) (with Patrick K. Hetrick).
Professor Tilly takes an active role in law school governance. In recent years, he has served on the Technology Committee (Chair); Competitions Committee (Chair & Co-Chair); Curriculum Committee; Faculty Recruitment Committee; Pro Bono Publico Committee; and the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee.
Professor Tilly supports the law school’s student recruitment efforts by chairing the Selection Committee for the Cheshire Schneider Advocacy Scholarship. He also has advised and supported many student organizations, including the Campbell Law Review; the Domestic Violence 508 Restraining Order Project; the Black Law Student Association Annual Christmas Project; and the Old Kivett Advocacy Counsel.
Professor Tilly earned his bachelor of arts degree in government from the University of Texas in 1997. He earned his J.D. degree (cum laude) from Baylor University in 2005. He practiced law for several years and taught as an adjunct at Baylor Law before joining the Campbell Law faculty.
“Campbell Law School takes enormous pride in recognizing Professor Tilly for his excellence in the classroom and scholarly accomplishments,” Dean J. Rich Leonard said.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW
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 more than 4,200 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2019, Campbell Law celebrated 40 years of graduating legal leaders and 10 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.