Campbell Law students share ‘his/her’ viewpoints from Nottingham Trent University
Campbell Law School students LeAnne McAbee ‘23 set off for Nottingham, United Kingdom, accompanied by Corey Goss ’23 on Friday, March 11, 2022. The primary purpose of the trip was to present McAbee’s dissertation topic for her LL.M. degree from Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
The Nottingham trip was sponsored by Hartsell & Williams P.A.
Campbell Law partners with Nottingham Trent University to allow students to pursue an LL.M. in International Legal Studies. Students first take a course at Campbell Law that allows them to find a legal topic to write about and begin preliminary work on presenting information about that topic. The next step is to present the topic in Nottingham and be “green lighted” with an advisor from NTU. Students then have two years to produce a 7,000 to 10,000-word law review journal article or a 12,000-word dissertation. The end goal is a publishable work.
Seven individuals were inducted into the Spring 2022 program. Four students were inducted: Chris Hamby, Erin Basinger, Maria Alzate and McAbee. Additionally, three legal professionals were inducted: Judge Thomas Wilson, Superior Court; Judge David Sipprell, District Court, and Ryan Boyce, Deputy Director at the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts.
Instead of documenting their journey through a traditional style blog, Goss and McAbee elected to detail their experiences in a “he said, she said” format, which follows:
He Said (Corey’s perspective):
As I did not travel to Nottingham to present a dissertation topic, I will focus on the experience as a guest and “international traveler.”
First, I have never traveled outside of the country before this trip, so it was an exciting experience because of that alone. London was a fast-paced city that stayed alive well beyond the late hours of the night. While in London, we hopped on a tour bus, which I would recommend to anyone that is traveling to London for the first time and has no idea where to start. The tour bus takes you to all of the top tourist sites like Big Ben and St. Paul’s Cathedral and it allows you to hop on and off all day at any of its bus stops using the same bus ticket. Later in the evening, the entertainment district of London is heavily populated which we took full advantage of as we traveled there to watch Lion King: The Musical at Lyceum Theatre.
Nottingham is a little more slow-paced in comparison to London and it is easier to walk through the bricked streets lined by shops and restaurants to sightsee. My favorite place in Nottingham was The National Justice Museum. Upon entering the museum, you are given a wristband with a convict number and told to look for your convict number in the museum to see what crime you committed. My convict had apparently stolen curtains and had received a whipping as punishment as I found out in the punishment wing of the museum. You start the tour of the museum in a courtroom where a costumed employee playing a judge tells you all about the English court system through the ages. In this same courtroom, there are skits put on to showcase what an English trial used to look like. Fun Fact: Did you know the gavel was an American addition to the courtroom and has never been used in England? I was randomly called on to play Farmer Dobbs and stood in the witness stand telling my, albeit scripted, story about having my butter stolen and thrown in my face by angry English citizens. Museum employees scattered through the audience dressed as English workers shouted in agreeance or anger to things I testified to. It was a fascinating experience that was fun and interactive and also made me appreciate how far both country’s justice systems have evolved.
Aside from the sights, I found the language and accents fascinating. Common words we use in America are not so common “across the pond.” For example, we call them elevators; they call them “lifts.” We call it an exit; they call it a “way out.” Our traffic signs say “yield,” their traffic signs say “give way.” My personal favorite was what we call flu shots, they call “flu jabs.” Further, most of the people we ran into were friendly and excited to talk to us. For example, we waited for a 3 a.m. bus on the day we were set to return to America and it never came. So, we spent the next 2 hours getting to know an English couple who were also waiting to take the same bus to London to go to the doctor and to work. In the United Kingdom, busses and trains are a main method of transportation.
Finally, it was fascinating to see how law school is organized in the United Kingdom. There, you attend law school as an undergraduate degree. They also separate their lawyers into “solicitors” and “barristers.” Solicitors are the transactional lawyers, while barristers are the equivalent to the American trial lawyer in that they stand and advocate in court.
Overall, traveling to the United Kingdom was a wholesome experience that makes you appreciate the beauty of another culture while simultaneously making you appreciate what you have back in America, especially in the beautiful state of North Carolina.
She said (LeAnne’s perspective):
Since the main reason for traveling to the United Kingdom was to present my dissertation topic, I will focus on the “business” side of things for my section.
Students who choose to travel for the LL.M. program arrange their own travel. So, Corey and I booked our plane tickets separate from the school and arranged our international trip around the set three dates of the LL.M. program. This allowed us to first travel to London where we spent the weekend exploring the sights before taking off by train to Nottingham. Once in Nottingham, the participants and their guests met Campbell Dean J. Rich Leonard, Assistant Dean Morgan Cutright and Campbell University President Dr. Bradley Creed and his wife for dinner and dessert. We then parted ways to settle into our hotels for the evening and prepare for the program’s start on Monday.
The three days of the program typically lasted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our day started with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a quick Uber ride to Nottingham Trent University. NTU had tea, coffee and breakfast treats waiting for us outside of our courtroom style classroom where we spent the days watching presentations in the morning and presenting dissertation topics in the afternoons. The presentations ranged from using the English version of Westlaw to understanding English common law and how to incorporate it into our American legal topics. After the presentations were over, students had an option to attend arranged sightseeing events and dinner with the NTU hosts or enjoy the evening on individual adventures.
Each student is given 10 minutes to present their topic with the aid of a suggested five-slide Powerpoint. After the student presents, NTU faculty engage with the speaker by asking questions relating to the topic. A few students and Campbell Law faculty jump in with questions as time allows, as well. After my own presentation, “Undisciplined Juveniles: Encouraging North Carolina Legislation to Create Criteria as to What Constitutes a “Serious” Offense in the Juvenile Code,” I received feedback and questions from at least five people. Our NTU hosts are excited to hear our topics and the informal, judgment-free environment of the presentations is welcoming and accepting.
NTU is situated on a main tram line so trams come and go in front of the school all day. Unlike any experience I have ever had in America, before you cross the street in Nottingham, you have to look both ways for trains and trams! There are not arms that come down and red lights do not flash to warn you one is coming, either. You simply have to be aware of your surroundings or you will walk right in front of the quiet locomotives. The campus is absolutely beautiful, a mixture of old English architecture and modern upscale renovations. The campus is also located only a 3-5-minute walk away from Nottingham’s major shops and restaurants, which allowed us to easily jump into the exploration side of things right after our time at NTU had ended for the day.
If you are considering the LL.M. program with Campbell Law, I would heavily advocate you go for it. It is an incredible experience to present your hard work and research in another country to a room full of people excited to hear what you have to say and excited to give you feedback. It is also an incredible way to see the world while still technically being there for “business.”
She said — Wrapping Up
As it was both of our first time leaving the United States, it was an especially incredible experience to travel abroad. I am immensely grateful Campbell Law offers such an opportunity and I encourage other students to take advantage of it. I also leave you with the following travel tips: pack your patience at the airport when you travel internationally; it is worth it to pay the extra fee to reserve seats on the 9-hour plane ride with your traveling companion; and be open-minded – enjoy your international journey.
ABOUT HARTSEKK & WILLIAMS P.A.
Established in 1896, Hartsell & Williams P.A. is the oldest continuously operating law firm in Cabarrus County. Their attorneys specialize in different areas of the law, but also work together to offer their clients the best representation. They handle domestic and family disputes, traffic violations and driving under the influence (DUI), civil litigation, as well as business and construction law. They are also very experienced in handling real estate, social security, estate planning and criminal law cases. All of their attorneys are members of the North Carolina State Bar and the Cabarrus County Bar Association, and are very involved in their community, serving in civic organizations and on non-profit boards.