Campbell Law Spotlight: Jacob Bunting ’24

Jacob Bunting ’24 has spent his law school career exploring the judiciary, and plans to continue on that path with both a federal and state clerkship when he graduates on May 10 from Campbell Law School.

Bunting is known by his peers to be hardworking and motivated. These traits have served him well throughout law school, and most recently paid off when he attended the Fourth Annual Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by Catholic Law School.

When Bunting received a message from the Campbell Law Career Center inviting applications for the conference, he seized the opportunity and applied. The conference brings together individuals from law schools across the country who have accepted post graduate federal or state appellate court clerkships. At the conference, some of the nation’s most distinguished members of the judiciary provide opinion writing instruction that includes individual review and commentary of students’ work. Bunting, who serves as a Teaching Scholar at Campbell Law, describes the conference as an extraordinary and unique experience. Moreover, he was pleased to see the skills he has developed at Campbell and that are taught in the Campbell Law Legal Research and Writing program are among those noted by the judges as central to strong legal writing.

Throughout his time at Campbell Law, Bunting has been committed to learning more about the judiciary. Early in his law school journey, he set his sights on earning a federal clerkship, believing the opportunity would allow him to strengthen his legal research and writing skills and further prepare him for his eventual path as a practicing attorney. His determination paid off when he secured a clerkship position for Chief Judge Martin Reidinger at the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Bunting will be joined in Chief Judge Reidinger’s chambers by fellow Campbell Law alumnus Jacob Stewart ’23.

Before coming to Campbell Law, Bunting attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in political science and economics with a minor in history. While the idea of attending law school had always lingered in the back of Bunting’s mind, it wasn’t until his gap year, spent bartending at He’s Not Here in Chapel Hill, that he said he felt the urgency to take the LSAT and seriously pursue a legal career.

Bunting was raised in Belews Creek, North Carolina, with no connection to the legal profession. He remembers only knowing of one attorney in the Triad town where he grew up. However, he was able to utilize the North Carolina courts located near Campbell Law to educate himself about the judiciary. Initially interning for Campbell Law alumnus Judge Jeffery Carpenter ’03 on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Bunting honed his skills in legal writing and gained valuable insights into North Carolina law. Subsequently, he interned for Judge Julee Flood, also at the North Carolina Court of Appeals, who had previously served as a law clerk to Judge Carpenter during Bunting’s time in his chambers. As a former legal writing professor, Judge Flood provided Bunting with a solid foundation in legal writing. Witnessing Judge Flood’s path to the bench was exciting for Bunting and showed him another angle of the judiciary.

During his 2L summer, Bunting interned at Manning, Fulton & Skinner P.A. and McAngus Goudelock & Courie (MGC). He said these experiences differed from his previous experiences in the judiciary as he witnessed the inception and discovery phases of litigation, learning more about the life cycle of a case.

Bunting continued his judicial experience during his third year of law school when he interned for Chief Justice Paul Newby at the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Observing oral arguments and interacting with clerks gave him a deeper understanding of the judiciary’s inner workings. The theoretical nature of the Supreme Court of North Carolina cases contrasted with the more concrete rulings of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, broadening Bunting’s perspective on legal interpretation. He is excited to return to clerk for Chief Justice Newby after his clerkship with Chief Judge Reidinger.

Throughout his time at Campbell Law, Bunting has consistently seized every opportunity for growth. His said his acceptance to the Fourth Annual Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference is the most recent testament to his commitment to always pushing himself to learn more and improve his skills.