Campbell Law Spotlight: Elizabeth ‘Brooks’ Savage ’19

Campbell Law School alumna Elizabeth (Brooks) Savage ’19, who served as the student-led Pro Bono Council’s director as a law student, is the 2025 recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Pro Bono Service Award.

“One act of service (no matter how small you self-perceive it to be) can make the world of difference for a disaster survivor who needs trusted counsel after experiencing such severe loss,” Savage was quoted as saying in an article on the NCBA website about Disaster Legal Services recovery efforts following 2024’s Hurricane Helene.

She currently practices workers compensation and construction litigation as an associate attorney with Willson Jones Carter & Baxley, P.A. in Raleigh.

Savage is an American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Disaster Legal Services (DLS) Program member where she leads DLS implementations across the nation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), helping with disaster and humanitarian relief. At the state level, Savage co-chairs the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) Construction Law Section Pro Bono Committee and co-chairs the NCBA YLD Standing Committee on Disaster Legal Services(DLS) along with another Campbell Law alumnus Brad Piland ’17. Savage also co-chairs the NCBA YLD Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Committee, is the ABA YLD District-9 Representative for the NCBA YLD, is a North Carolina Bar Foundation Open Door Fellowship Committee Member, and is a volunteer for the N.C. Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance and 4ALL Lawyers-on-Call programs as well as the WCBA/10th Judicial Bar District’s Public Service Committee and Entrepreneurship Clinic.

Throughout her career in disaster recovery, Savage has served survivors directly to alleviate legal barriers with FEMA, insurance and displacement matters and provided outreach and education on disaster legal issues. Notably in response to Hurricane Helene, Savage is a volunteer leader with N.C. Disaster Legal Services (DLS), where she works closely with state and national DLS partners, recruits and trains volunteer legal professionals and coordinates DLS operations for clinics, FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers and case management, just to name a few.

Savage is committed to improving the health, safety and well-being of her fellow North Carolinians, and expands this commitment beyond her public service career through volunteerism in disaster recovery. She recognizes the critical need to meet survivors where they are. Savage spends a great deal of time traveling to disaster-impacted areas, and in doing so “deepens connections with individuals that she has previously assisted and also works with local leaders and community groups for long-term recovery planning.” Disaster law is not a typical area where a lawyer can gain extensive practice experience. With such a unique skill set, she is committed to sharing her disaster law knowledge and experience to serve individuals impacted by natural disasters and help other legal professionals do the same. When asked about the reason she commits to making time for this pro bono work, Savage stated, “I’ve responded to numerous disasters so far, and it is in these critical response moments that I am brought back to the feeling, in my heart, that this work is very much what I have been placed on this earth to do.”

Savage has experience in a number of practice areas, including disaster and emergency relief programs, procurement, construction, civil rights and fair housing (including disability rights), landlord-tenant, public records, wills and estates, contractor fraud, insurance, and real property (including heirs’ property). Savage’s practice experience with construction and disaster recovery uniquely positions her to advise clients engaged in public contracting and disaster rebuilding. Savage also has a background in healthcare, having provided patient care as a Certified Nurse Assistant prior to law school, and obtained her Master of Science in Public Health, which lends a practical perspective to her workers compensation practice, according to the NCBA website.

Savage previously served the State of North Carolina as an Assistant General Counsel for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and the Disaster Recovery Division of the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management. She focused her practice with the State on emergency management and disaster recovery and provided advice and counsel in matters of compliance, contracts, procurement, grant administration, policy and program development, pre-litigation, and risk management. Prior to her role with the State, Savage worked with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Disaster Relief Project, as a W. C. Dawson Fellow and Staff Attorney, to represent North Carolinians who were recovering from disasters. Savage also practiced business, administrative and intellectual property law as an Associate Attorney with Matheson and Associates, PLLC, where she represented businesses with a variety of civil matters.

Savage’s dedication speaks volumes and has been acknowledged with several awards that represent her dedication to public service, including the 2019 Outstanding Student Commitment to Pro Bono and Public Service Award and the 2019 Public Service Certificate of Appreciation presented by the N.C. State Bar. She has been named Star of the Quarter twice by the YLD.

In addition to her Juris Doctor from Campbell Law, Savage earned a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) from Campbell University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and a bachelor’s in Exercise Physiology from East Carolina University College of Health and Human Performance.

If she’s not in the office, you’ll likely find Savage on her motorcycle and spending time with friends and family—whether exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway, finding the best taco place, cheering on the Durham Bulls, or simply road-tripping to nowhere, there’s not much an open road, some guacamole or good company can’t fix.