RALEIGH – Two first-year Campbell Law School students – Suzy Brito Lagunas and Josh Peacock – have been chosen as the 2025 Open Door Fellows for the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and North Carolina Bar Foundation (NCBF).
The NCBA Open Door Fellowship is a unique, competitive opportunity for first-year North Carolina law students. Open Door Fellows gain valuable, hands-on legal experience while widening their professional networks to “open doors” and prepare them for the next steps in their legal careers.
Lagunas and Peacock are the first Open Door Fellows chosen from Campbell Law since the program’s inception in 2023.
Lagunas serves with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Pro Bono Program and is a member of the Hispanic Law Student Association (HLSA), the Business Law Association and Women in Law. Lagunas studied business administration and public policy at the University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill before attending law school. She participated in study abroad programs in the Netherlands, Israel and Thailand, studying sustainable and environmentally friendly business practices and she served as an AmeriCorps Local Government fellow for Lee County. Lagunas is a first-generation U.S. citizen, and she would like to use her law degree to support individuals and communities facing challenges as new immigrants. Through the Open Door Fellowship, Lagunas will be working at IQVIA under the guidance of Jane Paksoy, senior counsel at IQVIA, a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry.
Peacock has participated in the Second Chance Pro Bono Project with Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) and the 1L Mock Trial Competition. Prior to attending law school, Peacock attended Liberty University, where he majored in law and policy pre-law. Peacock is a first-generation college graduate who worked years as a welder and assisted his family on their chicken and cattle farm in Denton, North Carolina, before beginning his legal studies. Peacock currently resides in Pittsboro with his wife and two young children, where they are members of Pleasant Grove Church. Through the Open Door Fellowship, Peacock will be working at Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) Airport Authority under the guidance of Erin Locklear, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at RDU.
Both the NCBA and the NCBF are committed to recognizing, respecting, promoting and encouraging diversity in the legal community, according to the website. As part of their ongoing commitment to address inequities in access to legal services and participation in the legal profession experienced by historically excluded or disadvantaged individuals and communities in North Carolina, these two organizations state they are proud to support the NCBF Open Door Fellowship.
The NCBF seeks applications from first-year law students who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion through their activities, background and life experiences, as well as first-year law students who are members of groups that have been historically underrepresented in the legal profession, including first-generation college students and those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Applicants must be interested in practicing law in North Carolina, be enrolled full-time at a North Carolina law school and have a demonstrated commitment to the NCBF’s mission and values.
Fellowship highlights include:
- Participation in a 10-week experience with an employer host that is arranged by the NCBA + NCBF.
- Participation in a professional development programming series coordinated by the NCBA + NCBF, including opportunities hosted by the NCBA Minorities in the Profession, Women in the Profession and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committees, as well as the NCBA Young Lawyers Division.
- Payment of $10,000 over 10 weeks.
- Be a guest of the NCBA at its June Annual Meeting and be recognized as an NCBF Open Door Fellow.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1986, 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 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2025, 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.