Campbell Law 45th Anniversary Spotlight: Shawna Vasilko ‘19
Nominator: Jeff Dobson, Class of 2019
Jeff Dobson is a 2019 graduate of Campbell Law School. Following graduation, he founded Dobson Law, a Raleigh law firm serving clients in the areas of criminal defense, family law and wills and estates. Dobson focuses his practice on the areas of criminal defense, family law and law enforcement liability. Prior to joining the legal profession, Dobson served in the military, including multiple deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations until he retired.
Nominee: Shawna Vasilko, Class of 2019
Vasilko is a licensed attorney in North Carolina, practicing primarily in the areas of family law, civil litigation and criminal defense. She has worked in the legal field for many years, starting first as a legal assistant, paralegal and law clerk.
Vasilko graduated from Vance Granville Community College with an Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice in 2015 and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. Vasilko then attended Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law where she took advantage of international opportunities such as advanced trial advocacy training through Baylor Law School in St. Andrews, Scotland. Additionally, she earned her Master of Laws in Legal Practice from Nottingham Law School in the UK while concurrently pursuing her law degree at Campbell.
During Vasilko’s tenure at Campbell she was Vice-President of the Campbell Law Innocence Project (CLIP) and Project Coordinator for Campbell’s re-entry project in coordination with Legal Aid of North Carolina, providing expungement and driver’s license restoration assistance. Additionally, she interned with the Administrative Offices of the Court, Transitional Support Legal Aid, Thorp Law, and McMillan & Smith. Vasilko also maintained a law clerk position with David Venable all throughout law school, assisting on both state and federal criminal cases, ranging from murder to minor traffic citations.
How does your nominee embody your definition of leading with purpose?
Shawna is one of the few family law attorneys in the Wake Metro that works almost exclusively on flat fee and accepts payment plans. By doing so, she allows clients who would normally be unable to afford an attorney to retain a skilled and crafty litigator to advocate for them in court. This is especially important since many of Shawna’s clients are dependent spouses, where the opposing party can afford an attorney and would likely receive considerably more in the divorce, post separation support, alimony, division of marital property, and child custody and support. Shawna selflessly works long after normal hours have ended to ensure she can answer questions for clients, putting them at ease as she handles some of the most important matters in their lives. Shawna is a fine example of leading with a purpose.
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 Reagan Warren at rwarren@campbell.edu for more information.
