Campbell Law 45th Anniversary Alumni Spotlight: Ashley Story ’82
Nominee: Ashley Story, Class of 1982
Ashley Story is a 1982 graduate of Campbell Law School and the Chief Operating Officer and a Partner at Troutman Pepper LLP. Story is the founding partner of the Raleigh office of Troutman Pepper and served as the Office Managing Partner from 2003-2012. Ashley’s practice focuses on the development, construction, permitting, acquisition, financing, and joint venture investment in retail, industrial multifamily, and office property. Story received his undergraduate degree from Wake Forrest University, and after law school received his LL.M with honors from Emory University School of Law and his LL.M in Taxation from the London School of Economics. Story has also served as a member of the Campbell Law School Board of Visitors. Story has been recognized by Super Lawyers of North Carolina and Best Lawyers in America on multiple occasions.
Nominator: Chamberlain Collier, Class of 2020
A native of Wilmington, North Carolina, Chamberlain Collier is a 2020 graduate of Campbell Law School and is an Associate at Troutman Pepper LLP in the firm’s Business Litigation group. Collier represents clients in commercial matters in federal, state, trial and appellate courts. Collier earned her undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and her Master’s in Education from East Carolina University. She earned her Juris Doctor from Campbell University School of Law, magna cum laude, where she served as Symposium Editor of the Campbell Law Review and as a member of Campbell’s nationally ranked Mock Trial Team. Prior to attending law school, Collier served as a 2015 Eastern North Carolina Corps Member with Teach For America.
How does your nominee embody your definition of leading with purpose?
I nominated Ashley Story because he leads with purpose every day in his personal and professional life. Leading with purpose is more than just being a good lawyer (although Ashley certainly is a good one). It’s about seeing the big picture for our profession and pushing yourself and those around you to be better every day.
I first met Ashley the summer after my 1L year of law school when I started as a Summer Associate at what was then called Troutman Sanders. Reading Ashley’s bio as a law student was intimidating, but that quickly faded the first time I walked into his office. Ashley was kind and welcoming and is an incredible teacher and mentor. From the minute we first met, he began pushing me to be better every day. He pushed me to think about parts of a legal career, like business development, that many lawyers don’t start thinking about until years into their practice—much less as a summer associate. Ashley used his years of experience to teach me to avoid the mistakes he had seen so many people make early in their careers. He quickly became the person I could go to and ask the questions you “aren’t supposed to ask” but really need to know the answers to as a young lawyer trying to figure it all out.
Even as Ashley nears retirement at the end of this year, he’s still pushing our firm to be better every day. He has worked tirelessly over the last year to bring together two firms and create what is now Troutman Pepper. Merging two large law firms is not a small task at any time, but to pull it off in the middle of a pandemic speaks to Ashley’s work ethic and determination. Throughout the last year, when Ashley talks about the merger, at the forefront of every conversation has been the goal to bring together the two firms in a way that prioritizes diversity and inclusion and creates a more supportive environment for all attorneys and staff in the combined firm. While Ashley will be the first to tell you that he didn’t do it all alone, everyone else involved would be quick to point out that it wouldn’t have happened without Ashley. The legacy he leaves behind when he retires in December shows exactly what it means to lead with purpose. I am grateful to call him a friend and colleague.
Want to nominate a Campbell Law Alumna/Alumnus to be featured in a 45th anniversary spotlight?
If you would like to nominate a fellow alumni who is living the university’s motto “leading with purpose,” please contact Lisa Snedeker at lsnedeker@campbell.edu for more information. The deadline for nominations is Oct. 25, 2021. All nominees and their nominators are invited to a complimentary 45th Anniversary celebratory dinner at Cafe Luna on Nov. 9, 2021.
