Campbell University School of Law: An Overview

Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law provides a comprehensive legal education, preparing students for leadership and service-oriented careers. Founded in 1976, Campbell Law School is committed to developing talented students with strong moral character, disciplined minds, and exceptional professional skills. The law school emphasizes a rigorous curriculum, a supportive community, and a commitment to both theoretical inquiry and practical skills.

Academics and Curriculum

Campbell Law School offers a Juris Doctor (JD) program with a variety of courses designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the legal profession. The school's curriculum is designed to provide a liberal arts legal education, encouraging students to think critically, communicate effectively, and uphold the highest standards of professional excellence.

Practice Areas

Campbell Law School offers courses in multiple Practice Areas to deepen their knowledge in specific curricular areas and also to cultivate a breadth of knowledge that will enable them to become well-rounded lawyers. Most students will elect courses from multiple Practice Areas. Some of these areas include:

Business Law: Business lawyers assist clients in choosing and forming entities, such as corporations, partnerships, and limited-liability companies. They draft and negotiate contracts of every kind, including sales contracts, financing documents, and intellectual property licensing agreements. A business lawyer often works with other lawyers in a collaborative style and typically works in a transaction-oriented practice area in a law firm or serves as in-house (employed) counsel for a business.
Civil Litigation: Civil litigators become active when people, businesses, or government agencies sue each other for damages or other relief. They master the workings of American court systems, including the procedure for civil lawsuits, the principles of evidence, and courtroom advocacy. Campbell Law’s Civil Litigation Practice Area prepares students to resolve disputes-inside or outside the courtroom-effectively and fairly.

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Criminal Law: Lawyers who work in criminal law play vital roles. Criminal defense lawyers represent people who entrust their lives and their liberty to their defense lawyers. Prosecutors speak with the voice of the community and seek justice for victims of crime. A lawyer practicing criminal law needs to master the law that defines and punishes crimes, the procedures for criminal trials, and the constitutional principles that govern criminal investigations and prosecutions. Campbell Law’s Criminal Litigation Practice Area develops students into lawyers who command all of these skills.
Estates and Trusts: Attorneys practicing in the area of Estates and Trusts are primarily involved in a transactional practice. These attorneys draft wills, trusts, family partnership agreements, and other essential documents to accomplish clients’ goals. An estates and trusts attorney may represent families, individuals, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other legal entities.
General Practice: An attorney engaged in a general law practice is often considered a quintessential all-around lawyer capable of representing clients with widely ranging legal needs. General practitioners frequently represent one client in a family law matter, another in a probate proceeding, and the next in a litigation dispute. These attorneys serve the many needs of their clients in small firms or solo office practices, particularly in smaller communities.
Government and Regulatory Affairs: Attorneys practicing in the Government and Regulatory Affairs Practice Area find opportunities in both the private and public sector. Private attorneys who practice in the area of government and regulatory affairs can expect to interact with government regulators at every level-federal, state, regional, and local. Public attorneys who practice in this area enjoy opportunities within all three branches of government, including as staff attorneys for agencies, as advisors to legislators, or as clerks in the judiciary.
Health Law: Delivery of health care is one of the most highly regulated activities in modern society. Health care lawyers may resolve issues involving corporate hospital transactions; medical facility development and expansion; or any number of unique questions about what care must be provided in the emergency room, who speaks for an incapacitated patient, what payment arrangements are allowed between physicians and facilities, and who can access medical records.

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Intellectual Property Law: Intellectual property law continues to grow rapidly in importance as technology and innovation remain at the forefront of economic development and competitiveness. An attorney practicing in the area of Real Property is involved in a multi-faceted practice.
Real Property: An attorney practicing in the area of Real Property is involved in a multi-faceted practice. At times, one will be involved in negotiating and drafting complex buy-sell agreements between many parties or even trying cases involving such agreements. At other times, one will be advising and assisting a family purchasing a family home. This area of law practice also may find the attorney representing large corporations involved in the acquisition and development of commercial properties in a wide range of settings. Real property attorneys often appear before governmental agencies as they assist clients in obtaining approval for various projects and developments ranging from residential subdivisions, large commercial shopping centers, and multi-use property arrangements of all kinds.

Dual Degree Programs

Campbell Law School offers several dual-degree programs, allowing students to combine their legal education with studies in other fields:

Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA)
Juris Doctor/Master of Trust and Wealth Management
Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Public Health (JD/MSPH)
Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity (JD/MDiv)
Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration (JD/MPA) (with North Carolina State University)
Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA) (with North Carolina State University)

Trial Advocacy Program

Campbell Law School's Trial Advocacy Program is known for its rigor. Every second-year student is required to plan and participate in a mock trial.

Campbell Law Review

The Campbell Law Review is a student publication of scholarly writings on current legal topics. It is a research tool for judges, attorneys, legislators, educators, and students. Writers and editors for the Campbell Law Review are students who demonstrate academic excellence.

Admissions and Financial Aid

Campbell Law School's Admissions Committee seeks qualified applicants who have the potential to succeed in the program and pursue a legal career consistent with the school's vision.

For the class entering in 2023, the school accepted 370 applicants out of 957 (38.66%) with 180 of those accepted enrolling, a 48.65% yield rate. The class consists of 184 students. The median LSAT score was 155 and the median undergraduate GPA was 3.48.

The full-time program application fee is $0. Its tuition is full-time: $51,230. The student-faculty ratio is 10.2:1.

Campbell Law recognizes the high cost of a quality education and strives to ensure that no qualified applicant is denied the opportunity to study law due to financial reasons. Assistance may be provided in the form of institutional scholarships, endowed scholarships, loans, and work-study programs. Approximately 60 percent of students receive scholarship assistance.

Faculty and Student Life

Campbell Law School is a deliberately small community of faculty and students. The faculty is a community of scholars who prioritize teaching and are accessible to students. They serve as mentors, coaches, and professional role models. All faculty have open-door office policies and are available to consult regularly with students on an individual basis.

Currently, the student body is composed of approximately 420 students from 23 different states, holding degrees from 109 colleges and universities with 57 different majors represented.

Each of the law school’s classrooms and courtrooms has video cameras to record lectures that most professors post via Blackboard for student review and use.

Location and Community

Campbell Law School is located in the heart of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. The Raleigh area offers students housing options in a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas. The city offers a variety of museums, performance centers, and other cultural scenes.

Bar Passage and Employment

Campbell Law graduates are historically successful on the bar exam. For 2022 bar exams, Campbell Law's first-time pass rate was 75.51%.

According to the schools's official ABA-required disclosures for 2023 graduates, within ten months after graduation 113 (76.87%) of the 147 member graduating class were employed in full-time positions requiring bar passage (i.e. as attorneys) and seven (4.76%) were employed in full-time JD advantage positions. Attorney positions were in various size law firms, most being in 1-10 attorney firms, five graduates obtained local or state judicial clerkships and one obtained a federal clerkship. 40 members of the class were otherwise employed in public interest, government, higher education, or business.

While 80 percent of Campbell Law graduates remain in North Carolina to practice law, 20 percent choose to practice across the nation and around the world. Campbell Law graduates also hold positions of influence in the local legal community.

Mission and Values

Campbell Law School is a unique community of diverse individuals brought together by a singular purpose-to use the practice of law in order to create a more just and merciful society. The School of Law strives to produce highly competent, deeply compassionate lawyers who see the practice of law as a calling to serve others. Particular emphasis therefore is given to practicing the highest ideals of integrity and civility, seeking transformative justice, promoting reconciliation, and helping those who are most in need of our assistance.

As part of the Campbell University community, the School of Law shares in the University’s purpose and mission to educate students from a Christian perspective in a caring Christian community. The school encourages students to examine the relationship between spiritual and legal issues, to explore the theological foundations for law, to think differently about justice and the legal system, and to consider how they can help achieve a more just and merciful society.

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