Campbell Law 50th Spotlight: Kristen Beightol ‘01

Kristen L. Beightol ‘01 is a founding partner of Edwards Beightol LLC, where she works as a litigator focusing on catastrophic injury cases, largely in the area of medical malpractice. Beightol grew up in Raleigh. Her legal career began at Campbell Law, which prepared her for and eventually connected her to the career she loves. A member and recent past chair of the law school’s Alumni Association Board of Directors, Beightol earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997.

Beightol says she was drawn to Campbell Law for its reputation as a “training ground for real lawyers.” She wanted a degree that not only taught her the law, but taught her what lawyers do everyday through hands-on experience, allowing her to be prepared for a law career immediately after graduation. “I wanted a degree that enabled me to hit the ground running and believed Campbell Law could give me that degree. It did.”

Beightol was connected to her first law job out of law school by former Campbell Law Dean Willlis Whichard. The job was at a boutique medical malpractice firm. She immediately fell in love with medical malpractice litigation and has continued to practice in that area, though she also regularly handles cases in other areas of catastrophic litigation.

One lesson Beightol continues to carry from Campbell Law is that “the key to being a successful lawyer is being a prepared lawyer.”

Beightol credits former Dean Whichard for seeing her value and connecting her to her first law job and the career in complex litigation that she loves. “That (first) role and the practice area it involved lit a fire in me that still burns.”

When asked about her advice for current students, Beightol suggests always “be prepared.”

Beightol believes the next 50 years of Campbell Law should be like the first 50: “continuing to train law students to be able to practice law on their first day of legal practice.” Beightol feels that Campbell should continue to grow and adapt to current times to remain the best training ground for aspiring lawyers.