Campbell Law Spotlight: Anthony Maier ’24

Anthony Maier ’24 is a rising third-year student at Campbell Law School, where he has a strong interest in corporate law and transactional work. Maier says he eventually hopes to work as in-house counsel after graduation. Last summer, he interned with RTI International, an independent nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition in Research Triangle Park.
 
Q: What did your role as an in-house intern for RTI International entail?
A: Working as an in-house intern for RTI entailed a lot of contractual and transactional work. I got to take part in negotiations and the bidding process for contracts in areas ranging from infrastructure projects aiding domestic school systems to international water access problems. I was also involved in redlining and negotiating terms for the contracts themselves with representatives from the federal government and subcontractors, as well as handling pertinent NDAs. Additionally, I was given many opportunities to shadow and speak with different attorneys around the company to really get insight into the breadth of work that in-house counsel entails.
 
Q: What previous international experience did you have and how did that experience influence your time at RTI?
A: I got to spend 10 years overseas while growing up between living in France, Brazil and China. These experiences allowed me to get a firsthand view of many of the issues that people experience around the world, often regarding resources or situations that we take for granted. This background gave me the ability to see a deeper impact of the work being done at RTI and the meaning of the work that I participated in.
 
Q: How did your international experience make you a good fit for the role at RTI?
A: My international experience made me a good fit because it taught me how to work and interact in extremely diverse groups, as well as how to be adaptable. RTI prides itself on diversity, which means working with people who think and approach problems and projects in different ways. Also, the nature of the work means there is constant change. Maybe the initial bid you worked on was rejected for some reason, for example, so how can it be improved and amended for the next time? Sometimes subcontractors would pull out, meaning now you must find another qualified company to take over for your bid to remain valid.
 
Q: What was your greatest takeaway from interning at RTI?
A: My greatest takeaway would be having learned how much a law degree can allow you to do. I do not have any lawyers in my family and did not really know any before law school, so I feel that I had a limited idea of what a lawyer is. Working at RTI really opened my eyes to how many different opportunities are out there for us.
 
Q: How will your experience at RTI inform your perspective as a lawyer?
A: It will help me to always keep the bigger picture in mind. Given that I have mainly focused on transactional work, sometimes I find it easy to get lost in the paperwork and not always remember the real-world impact on people since it is not necessarily as client facing. This perspective will make me a better advocate for my clients and aid me in finding the most beneficial solutions.
 
Q: What work experience has been particularly meaningful and why?
A: The school-related projects that I got to work on at RTI were quite meaningful to me because access to education with the proper materials and facilities is beyond essential for people of any age, but especially the youth. Unfortunately, that is an issue in many places all around the world, including here in the United States. Knowing I played even a small part in helping improve that access for people who did not otherwise have it was very meaningful to me.
 
Q: What are your plans for this summer?
A: This summer I have the opportunity to intern with the in-house legal team at First Citizens Bank and will also be taking a Mergers & Acquisitions class through the iLaw program. I hope to get an even more in-depth look at the types of projects, problems and lawsuits that in-house counsel handle on a regular basis.