Campbell moves to downtown Raleigh digs

Raleigh, N.C. — Classes begin Monday for legal students at Campbell University’s outpost in downtown Raleigh.

The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law moved from the university's campus in Buies Creek, school leaders said, to give students greater access to internships with law firms and clerkships with judges in the state capital.

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Campbell christens Raleigh law school

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker joined Campbell administrators to welcome the students to their new home. "This is a state-of-the-art, new building. "I'm not sure there's any other law school in this country that quite has what you have," he said.

Classrooms and offices will be housed at Hillsborough Place, 225 Hillsborough St. The building, at the corner of Hillsborough and Dawson streets, features 13 classrooms, a 175-seat auditorium and a 25,000-square-foot library.

The Raleigh Division of the North Carolina Business Court will move into the same building, making Campbell one of only a handful of law schools nationwide to house a working court.

Since it was founded in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law has been honored by the American Bar Association for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program and having the nation’s top Professionalism Program.

Downtown businesses, hoping to benefit from the added foot traffic the law school will bring, are offering discounts or special services to Campbell law students and faculty. Julie Lechner, assistant director of development and communications at the school, said that so far McDonald's, Quiznos, The Borough and The Oxford have signed up for the program.

Daniel Sartain, general manager of The Oxford, said, "It's basically just an idea of welcoming people here. The university is a nice addition to downtown and we'd like to let them know that we're happy to have them and expect to see them."

”I love being in Raleigh,” student Landon White said. “I live a mile from here, so I can walk here.”