Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law has launched the Hutchens Business Law Clinic, made possible by a donation from Hutchens Law Firm in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Led by corporate attorney Benji Jones, the clinic gives students practical experience in business law while supporting local entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The clinic, in partnership with Raleigh Founded, bridges classroom learning with hands-on legal practice. Law students weigh in on client legal matters such as business entity formation, employee and contractor documentation, equity compensation plans and awards, commercial agreements such as non-disclosure agreements and vendor contracts and other operational topics.
Typically, four students participate in the clinic each semester, with each student working with three to four clients — meaning 12 to 14 clients receive assistance per semester, according to Jones.
“I view my job as having two constituencies — students and clients,” said Jones, an experienced corporate transactional attorney who originally started the clinic in 2019. “My students, who come into the program knowing pretty much nothing about how to practice law — I want them to leave knowing what they know and don’t know and having the confidence to say, ‘I don’t know that, so I can either figure it out or we can find someone who knows how to help you.’”
Kelly Chauvin Kramarenko ’24, a financial investigator for the N.C. Secretary of State, participated in the clinic during her third year at Campbell Law.
“This clinic, and the selectivity and the size of it, really allows the students to get hands-on experience,” Kramarenko said. “I was able to work with clients, draft contracts and do in-depth, statutory analysis through multiple different states — part of which got me my current position.”
Richard Waugaman III, assistant dean of experiential learning, said the school is giving students the chance to move from theory to practice — replacing textbooks and hypotheticals with real clients and real cases. The approach lets them confront real issues, address wrongs and pursue opportunities before graduation and the bar exam, gaining firsthand insight into what the practice of law truly entails.
“It’s also an opportunity to help those in the community that are at the most disadvantaged, the most in need — to fill a gap that exists in our community and to make things better and smoother for the court system and for all of us as a whole,” he said.
In addition to business law, Campbell Law offers other clinics that cover bankruptcy law, restorative justice, family law, education law, veterans’ legal issues and community law.
