Campbell Law 50th Anniversary Spotlight: John McCabe ’94
John McCabe ‘94, a civil litigator working in the area of personal injury, is the founder and president of The Law Offices of John M. McCabe in his hometown of Cary, North Carolina. He currently serves as the Chair of the Campbell Law School Board of Visitors. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991 and he graduated, cum laude, in 1994 from Campbell Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the Campbell Law Review and was named to several national moot court teams.
Current role: Founder and president of The Law Offices of John M. McCabe P.A.
Why Campbell Law?
McCabe was drawn to Campbell Law for its small class sizes, individualized attention and high bar passage rate. The school’s North Carolina location held a lot of appeal for McCabe, but he was specifically swayed by his initial faculty interview at Campbell Law, where he felt the school’s student-centric nature and was further convinced of the school’s ability to create successful North Carolina lawyers. “The idea of getting the best education to be a North Carolina lawyer held a lot of appeal for me.”
On practice
McCabe, who says he knew he wanted to be a lawyer since he was 8 years old, always knew he wanted to be a trial lawyer. He felt Campbell Law had an emphasis on this particular type of training, emphasizing mock trial teams and trial advocacy as part of its curriculum. He felt the experience of trying cases before graduating was a “really big deal,” setting him up for success for the kind of litigation he does currently. He adds working in civil procedure has been an interesting turn of events in his career, as he recalls it being his worst class in law school. He now finds civil procedure to be more intuitive in practice than in the classroom.
A lesson that stuck
McCabe tells students that “the practice of law is a relationship business, and the relationships that you start establishing while you’re a student are incredibly important. The friendships and relationships you have with your classmates are crucial for building and facilitating your practice. Campbell lawyers help Campbell lawyers and your reputation starts forming as a lawyer when you’re a law student. You hope that reputation is carried over into your practice.”
People who shaped you
McCabe credits the close relationships he developed with Professor Stanley McQuaid and Professor Rick Lord as being very impactful. Professor Lord had a major influence as a moot court coach, giving McCabe valuable feedback by telling him “what he needed to hear, not what he wanted to hear,” which he believes ultimately made him a better lawyer. He also credits Professor Alan Button as being an outstanding professor and trial advocacy coach. Professor Rick Rodgers, who taught a class about building your own law firm, met with McCabe as he was starting his own firm five years after graduation. McCabe says that Rodgers’ kindness and support was unforgettable. Rodgers invited him to his home for dinner and he provided hours-long sessions of mentorship and advice. McCabe credits the individualised experience at Campbell Law for allowing these kinds of supportive relationships to grow. “That first impression of Campbell Law wasn’t a false impression. It was a very real impression of the true nature of the school.”
On being Campbell Law Family
“Campbell Law is a very, very special place. It really is, and the people who go there know it … Campbell lawyers are a tight, tight group. We all look out for each other. When I see I have a Campbell lawyer on a case, I’m pleased about that because I know what I’m going to be dealing with and who I’m going to be dealing with.”
Advice to current students
McCabe advises students to “try to beat the course, the classwork, the exams, not each other. Don’t do things that would sacrifice your relationships and your reputation among your classmates. Don’t try to get an edge on them by doing anything sneaky because it will haunt you the rest of your career. If you do things the right way, that will benefit you throughout your entire career.” He also expresses the importance of connecting with faculty. “Develop relationships. Those professors that seem so scary are truly magnificent people. If you spend the time getting to know these people, you’ll develop great relationships that will last a really long time.”
The next 50 years
“The law school has already achieved the goal that I wanted it to achieve when I was there. We are North Carolina’s law school now.” In terms of growth over the next 50 years, McCabe feels Campbell should continue to grow its reputation outside of North Carolina without losing the values it was built on. It should continue to foster close relationships between faculty and students, and continue to prioritize giving students the same individualized attention it always has.
Sidebar
Currently reading and listening to: “The Devil at His Elbow” by Valerie Bauerlein. The book is about the Murdaugh trial. Dean Rich Leonard actually gave me the book and told me to read it. As for music, I’m all over the place. You can hear AC/DC one minute and then you can hear Beethoven the next.
Most adventurous thing:
Among the most adventurous things I’ve done is a silverback gorilla safari in Rwanda and a dive with great white sharks off of the coast of South Africa. I’ve also done a polar bear safari and we recently went on a grizzly bear safari. All photographic, of course.
Favorite Raleigh spot: Brodeto at Ironworks. It’s pretty cool. East End Bistrot, too. That is my favorite restaurant right now.
Proudest moment: My proudest moment in the courtroom just happened. We got the highest verdict in North Carolina history in a personal injury case. It happened in May, after a six-week trial that was a dogfight. That by far has been my best memory ever in the courtroom. My proudest moment outside the courtroom was marrying my wife, Rebecca.