RALEIGH — Campbell Law School’s competitive trial advocacy program has once again been graded as one of the best in the country by preLaw Magazine in its Winter 2023 issue. The accolade marks Campbell Law’s sixth consecutive appearance on the annual list since 2017. Campbell Law received a graded score of A again this year and is the only law school in North Carolina to make this year’s list. The complete list is available online at this link.
“I am delighted to once again see our name on the ‘A’ list of Trial Advocacy Schools, and to be the only school in North Carolina on the list,” said Dean J. Rich Leonard. “Advocacy is our hallmark. Our graduates are ready to perform and lead from the moment they pass the bar exam. Our hands-on curriculum and culture deserve recognition for the results they produce.”
Inside the classroom, Campbell Law has a tradition of training lawyers to be persuasive advocates for their respective clients. Standing behind the commitment to advocacy teaching is the premise that every lawyer will advocate for something in her or his role as an attorney-counselor.
One of the secrets to Campbell Law’s success is advocacy training begins in students’ first year and continues throughout each of the three successive semesters in which students are enrolled, says Dan Tilly, interim director of the law school’s Competitive Advocacy Program and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Advocacy training continues in the second and third years with required offerings in Evidence and Trial Advocacy, and an array of upper-level electives tailored to civil, criminal and alternative dispute practices.
“In addition to receiving experiential training, every Campbell Law student is required to learn the doctrinal law governing the admissibility of evidence in the courtroom by taking Evidence,” he explained. “Campbell Law’s required Trial Advocacy course is divided into large lecture and small performance sections. Students learn legal concepts and practice theories collectively before dividing into small group sections within our class courtrooms for performing individual trial components. The course is constructed to more closely reflect current litigation and the rigors of legal practice. While not all students will end up practicing in a litigation environment, every effort is made to ensure that students develop the skills necessary to become successful practitioners.”
Another contributor to the advocates’ competitive success is the G. Eugene Boyce Center of Advocacy, which was established in September 2015 with an $8 million-plus gift. The center comprises three competitive courtrooms, conference rooms and a suite of adjoining offices. More than $450,000 in start-of-the-art technology upgrades have been added to the center since it opened.
“Campbell Law is committed to training each and every student in courtroom advocacy,” Tilly continued. “Our required curriculum puts students through the rigors of procedure, evidence and trial advocacy so that every single Campbell lawyer is prepared to walk into any courtroom with skill and confidence.”
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
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 4,700 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2024, Campbell Law will celebrate 45 years of graduating legal leaders and a 15 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.