The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University officially opened the 2008-09 academic year on August 13 with a convocation ceremony welcoming students to campus.

Janet Ward Black, principal of Ward Black Law in Greensboro, N.C., served as the convocation’s keynote speaker. Black, a graduate of Duke Law and immediate past president of the North Carolina Bar Association, offered a witty, humorous, and poignant address that challenged students to build lifelong friendships with their law school colleagues, to become active members in their communities, and to utilize the power of their legal education in a way that serves the needs of mankind.

In commenting about her professional observations of past graduates of Campbell Law School, Black stated, “Graduates of Campbell Law are out shaping and making a positive difference in the world, and I know each of you, as future graduates, will as well.”

Black built her presentation around the “4 All” campaign which was she created and launched during her tenure as president of the North Carolina Bar Association. The “4 All” program seeks to raise awareness of and support for the thousands of North Carolinians who have legal needs but cannot afford attorney fees by targeting four goals: "Educate, Legislate, Donate and Participate"—and expanding support for Legal Aid of North Carolina.

"Provision of legal services to the poor is our professional responsibility. It is our duty as holders of these exclusive tickets to practice law," Black told Campbell students. “I wish each of you success in your legal careers and hope you will continually remember the needs of millions of North Carolinians who cannot afford the legal services that they desperately need.”

Other speakers at the 2008 convocation included Dean Melissa Essary and Sam Fleder (3L), president of the Campbell Law Student Bar Association.

About Campbell Law School: Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others and create a more just society. The School has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American College of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. In 2008, the Law School’s Moot Court Program was ranked 17th nationally among 196 ABA accredited law schools. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,000 alumni, including 2,000 who reside and work in North Carolina as well as the highest average overall passage rate on the July N.C. Bar Exam for the past 17 years. For more information, visit law.campbell.edu.