Campbell Law School formally launched the Richardson Family Education Equity Clinic with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at the law school in downtown Raleigh.

Billy Richardson ‘80, a Fayetteville attorney who served in the North Carolina Legislature for more than a decade and Barbara Richardson, who holds a master’s degree in special education, have given the law school a substantial gift to support the addition of a sixth pro bono clinic focusing on protection of the educational rights of children with disabilities.

Dean J. Rich Leonard said in a press release, “When I took this job almost 11 years ago, after the brilliant Dean Melissa Essary moved the law school to Raleigh, my job was to embed the law in the legal culture of Raleigh in every way possible. One of the ways we have done that is the dramatic expansion of our clinical programs. As we stand here today to open our sixth legal clinic, I could not be prouder of where we have come.”

Professor Lisa Lukasik is the inaugural director of the clinic, which provides free legal representation to low-income, at-risk children with disabilities  who are seeking to restore and protect their educational rights in public schools.

“We believe this work is important,” she stated in a press release. “We believe that we can provide good service and support for the families that we serve. And we are inspired by the legacy of the Richardson family to do good service in the public interest. We also hope to provide meaningful and impactful opportunities for students to get legal skills but also to develop habits of pro bono service.”

Dean Leonard added in a press release, “As was forecast, the need for this clinic is enormous. We’re already being besieged by folks needing our help. And let me say in closing, we’re moving in the direction of needing to offer more experiential legal education. Currently, we’re required to provide six hours of experiential education for all of our students. Current proposals before our accrediting body would take that as high as 15. So stay tuned. We cannot stop here. If you have an idea and it comes with a wallet, come see me.”