Professor Rick Glazier, alumni named among 2024 ‘Leaders in Law’

Photo of NC Leaders in the Law logo

RALEIGH — A longtime Campbell Law School professor and two alumni have been recognized as members of the “Leaders in Law Class of 2024″ by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

Professor Rick Glazier has been teaching as an adjunct at Campbell Law since 1991. He has taught a variety of courses including pre-trial civil litigation, trial and appellate advocacy and a course on legislative policy-making and ethics.

Photo of Professor Rick Glazier
Rick Glazier

In January 2023, Glazier became the full-time director of the law school’s Blanchard Community Law Clinic. “His leadership at the N.C. Justice Center coupled with the fact he has been teaching at the law school for nearly three decades, makes Rick the absolute perfect person to continue leading our students in this venture,” said Dean J. Rich Leonard at the time. “His passion for helping those in need is unquestioned. His willingness to serve in this role will have an immense impact on our students as well as members of the community who find themselves in dire straits.”

From 2006-2015, Glazier also served as a visiting professor at Fayetteville State University, where he taught undergraduate courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, juvenile law and criminal evidence. In addition, he previously taught courses in criminal law for Fayetteville Technical Community College and North Carolina State University. He served in the N.C. General Assembly for 13 years representing Cumberland County in the N.C. House of Representatives from 2003-2015, when he received numerous Legislator of the Year Awards. He also has been recognized by the North Carolina Bar Association with a 2012 Citizen Lawyer Award and in 2015 he was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by then Gov. Pat McCrory. 

Glazier earned his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1981 and his undergraduate degree from Penn State University in 1977.

William “Will” Oden ‘04 is an employment attorney and mediator at Ward & Smith P.A., and is president of Ward & Smith Business Consulting, LLC. His areas of focus and interest include employment law, collaborative law, alternative dispute resolution, project management and human resources.

Photo of Will Oden '04
Will Oden ’04

Oden has served as a member of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission (DHC) for the North Carolina State Bar since July 2021. He is also a member of the New Hanover County Bar Association, where he has served in numerous leadership positions including secretary/treasurer, vice president, president and as a member of the Board of Directors. Oden also served similar positions as a member of the Lower Cape Fear Human Resource Association and the North Carolina Society for Human Resource Management. 

Oden has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career including the North Carolina Bar Association Citizen Lawyer Award in 2019 for providing exemplary public service to the community. He made the Benchmark Litigation “40 and Under Hot List” in the years 2017-2019 and was deemed one of the most promising emerging talents by his peers and clients.

Oden earned his B.A. in English and philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001, and he earned his Juris Doctor and Master’s in Business Administration from Campbell in 2004. 

Jennifer Morris Jones ’05 is a partner in Cranfill Sumner’s Raleigh office, where she is a member of the Risk Management and Workers’ Compensation Practice Group. She is a North Carolina Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist.

Photo of Jennifer Morris Jones '05
Jennifer Morris Jones ’05

Jones is actively involved in DRI, a leading organization of civil defense attorneys and in-house counsel. She has served as chair of the Workers’ Compensation Committee for DRI and also served as chair of the Technology Subcommittee of the Women in the Law Committee, as well as PowerPoint chair for the Annual Seminar. She previously served as the vice chair, as well as Online Community Page and Social Medial chair, for DRI Workers’ Compensation Committee. She has been appointed to serve as an advisory board member for the National Workers’ Compensation Review, presenting at the WCI Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. She is also a Premium Member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), an industry organization dedicated to meeting the professional development needs of the claims and litigation management industries, and a Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) 2020, a designation from Litigation Management Institute (LMI) offered by CLM. In addition, she is a member of the planning committee for the Triangle N.C. Chapter of the Alliance of Women in Workers’ Compensation (AWWC).

Jones earned her B.A. in international relations and affairs and history from Salem College in 2001 and her J.D. from Campbell Law School in 2005.

“Leaders in the Law” is an annual award that honors those lawyers who are setting the standard for other lawyers. Leaders’ accomplishments include outstanding contributions to the practice of law in North Carolina, significant achievements through the practice of law, leadership in improving the justice system, acting as role models and mentors and making essential contributions to the state’s legal community, the community at large or both.

“We look forward to honoring these stellar practitioners at the presentation event April 25 at the Wake County Shrine Club in Raleigh,” organizers stated in an article about the awards.

For a full list of winners, visit this link.

ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW

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 4,800 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2024, Campbell Law is celebrating 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.