Celebrating its “10/40 anniversary”

by Catherine Currin

The year 2019 will be full of celebration for Campbell University’s law school. The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law celebrates 40 years in operation, plus 10 years in its downtown Raleigh location. In 2009, the school moved from Buies Creek, about an hour from Raleigh, to Hillsborough Street. Law school dean J. Rich Leonard says that the move happened at an opportune time. “Legal education was expanding fairly dramatically in 2008, 2009. We knew that another law school would come to Raleigh if Campbell didn’t claim it.”

Since the move, the law school has expanded with new resources, opportunity and community engagement. “We have the major court houses within walking distance, plus the legislature as well as major state law firms and businesses. It’s unique that we can provide our students with opportunities to practice while they’re still in school. That’s a sound education in my opinion,” says Leonard. Law students at Campbell are also able to give back to the community through legal clinics and mentorships with local lawmakers and attorneys. There are four clinics that work to serve lower-income members in the Triangle: Restorative Justice, Community Law, Bankruptcy and Senior Law. “We’re working to add a fifth this year,” says Leonard. “There are also 13 different pro bono opportunities our students can engage in.”

The law school will kick off the year-long celebration with a gala at the new Union Station March 22. Later in 2019, local artist Thomas Sayre will reveal an art installation on Hillsborough Street in the parking lot adjacent to the law school. Leonard says the cylindrical towers along the lot’s entrance will become a major piece of public art for the university and for downtown, and hopes the reveal will happen during this year’s graduation. “The move to Raleigh has given our students opportunities to gain practical knowledge in law. The school is prospering, and we’re glad to be in a position to have this celebratory year.”