RALEIGH — Campbell Law School Dean J. Rich Leonard announced today the creation of six new summer fellowships in the Wake County justice system. The Judge Robert Farmer Fellowships will be awarded to Campbell Law students with demonstrated financial need and a calling for public service. The Fellows will have a funded position, through a generous donation, in the Resident Superior Court Judges’ Chambers, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Public Defender’s Office.
The donation comes from the nonprofit Carolina Correctional Services Inc. of which Judge Farmer was an active board member. In his role as chair of the organization, he helped oversee the design and implementation of several innovative court-based programs in Wake County, including both adult and juvenile drug treatment courts.
Judge Farmer began practicing law in North Carolina in 1960 and embarked on a career dedicated to public service. Elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1970 and nominated to the Governor’s Advocacy Commission for Children and Youth from 1971-1973, Judge Farmer’s career is emblematic of a dedicated public servant and Wake County citizen.
In 1977, Judge Farmer joined the Wake County bench as a Superior Court Judge and went on to become the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge. He also served as the very first chairman of the State Ethics Commission. Noted for his professionalism throughout his distinguished career, Judge Farmer was awarded the 1993 Joseph Branch Professionalism Award by the Wake County Bar Association.
When asked about the career of Judge Farmer, Dean Leonard said, “For lawyers of my generation, Judge Farmer was a legendary jurist.”
Beginning in the summer of 2020, students between their second and third year of law school will have the opportunity to apply for the Fellowships based on a demonstrated interest in the Wake County justice system. The selections will be made by a committee which include distinguished members such as, the Wake County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge, the Wake County District Attorney, the Wake County Public Defender and the Campbell Law School Dean.
Current Wake County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway ‘86, commenting on the new program, said, “We are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to work with talented Campbell Law students and are so pleased that one of the legends of our courthouse, Robert Farmer, is honored in this way.”
The newly created Fellowship program will continue the passion Judge Farmer showed for Wake County.
“It is a signal honor to create a program at Campbell Law in his name to advance what he cared about so deeply, the quality of the criminal justice system in Wake County,” Dean 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.