Campbell Law students to participate in inaugural African judicial clerkships

RALEIGH - Eight Campbell Law School students are headed to Africa in May to work as judicial clerks in the high courts of three nations.

In February, Dean J. Rich Leonard, who has traveled to Africa some 80 times, met with chief justices in Ghana, Namibia and Rwanda to set up an inaugural student-oriented program funded by the Joseph E. Zaytoun International Judicial Clerkship Fellowship.

"It is a logical next step for me to use my contacts I already have and expand them for the benefit of my students," Leonard said. He added he believes this program is unique nationally.

The new eight-week initiative is a reflection of Leonard's 30-year-long passion for judicial reform in African nations. It began in 1994, when Leonard, who was a federal judge at the time, received a cold call from the U.S. State Department asking, "Would you like to go to Zambia as a consultant to their judiciary?' And I said, 'Sure, where's Zambia?'"

"That just started a love affair," Leonard said. Since then, he's worked across the continent serving as a consultant to judicial systems in a variety of countries.

Two students - Jarrick Hawkins '28 and Emma Rogers '28 - are headed to Ghana, while three - Angelena Antenuci '27, Tracy Harris '27 and Ryan Hogan '28 - are headed to Namibia. Another three - Lukas Ireland '28, Eric Kinyon '28 and Brittany Wilson '28 - will work in Rwanda.

"I'm deeply honored to share that I will be serving as a judicial clerk this summer for the High Court of Namibia as an inaugural Zaytoun Fellow," Antenuci wrote on a recent LinkedIn post. "The opportunity to clerk is both a privilege and a responsibility. It is a chance not only to grow as a law student but also to engage with the law and its implications using what I have learned at Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law thus far. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to learn how justice is pursued in a global context and shaped by different histories, cultures, and communities.

"I look forward to learning from the Court, contributing where I can, and approaching this experience with humility, curiosity and dedication. Thank you to my mentors and support system for your guidance to this point. Thank you, especially to Dean Rich Leonard, for your dedication to the development of the Joseph E. Zaytoun International Judicial Clerk Fellowship."

Each fellow will receive a stipend of $12,000 to defray travel, lodging, meals and incidental expenses thanks to the generosity of prominent North Carolina attorney Robert Zaytoun, owner of the Zaytoun Law Firm in Wilmington. For the past 35 years his practice has focused on catastrophic personal injury, including medical malpractice, motor vehicle injury, premises liability, whistle blower cases and other areas of torts and wrongful death.

Zaytoun, who pledged $500,000 to establish the Fellowship initiative, has been a longtime supporter of the law school's clinics, trial teams, advocacy center and global initiatives. "I am thrilled to support Joseph E. Zaytoun International Judicial Clerkship Fellowship, named for my father, and to help provide clerkship opportunities in Africa for Campbell Law students," he said.

Leonard added, "Our vision for these clerkships is to provide unique opportunities for our Campbell Law students to step outside of their comfort zone and work with a variety of judges in the African nations of Ghana, Namibia and Rwanda."

ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL

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 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law is celebrating 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina's Capital City.