In her address to the second cohort of NC IOLTA's Public Interest Internship Program, the CEO of the statewide legal services organization said law is “the lives we touch, the fairness we demand, the dignity we uphold.”
“A Call to Lead”: LANC’s Ashley Campbell Emphasizes Access to Justice in Keynote
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The Summer 2025 cohort of NC IOLTA’s Public Interest Internship Program joined staff, law school officials and other members of the access to justice community for a luncheon at the State Bar on Friday, Sept. 19. As part of the program, Ashley Campbell, CEO of Legal Aid of North Carolina, gave the following keynote.
Good afternoon, everyone. It is such a joy to be here today.
To the leadership of the North Carolina State Bar: Thank you for welcoming all of us into this building, the home of the agency created by our General Assembly in 1933 to protect the public and safeguard our system of justice.
From its early days on Fayetteville Street to this beautiful home in the State Government Complex, the State Bar has grown alongside our profession and now regulates more than 27,000 lawyers across North Carolina.
To NC IOLTA, especially [Executive Director] Mary Irvine: Thank you for your dedicated stewardship of IOLTA resources and for ensuring that those resources reach the corners of our state that too often are forgotten.
And to the students: Congratulations! Congratulations on a summer well done. You have done more than check a box this summer; you have shown up in rural communities, you have listened, you have worked hard and you have made a difference in our neighbors’ lives. The experiences you’ve had will not only inform your future legal work, they will live with you always.
The Deep Obligation of the Profession
One of the greatest privileges of being a lawyer is that our profession allows us to carry joy alongside our professional obligation. We are advocates, guides and guardians of justice. Every time we swear the oath to be lawyers, acknowledge our professional promise, we affirm that law is more than a technical skill; it is service. Service to people who need someone to speak for them, to represent them, to help them navigate systems that were not made easy.
Ashley Campbell, CEO of Legal Aid of North Carolina
I am a proud member of the Wake County Bar Association. Its Creed of Professionalism reminds us: “A lawyer need not sacrifice the opportunity to prosper, but the practice of law must be motivated by service rather than inspired by profit.”
As President Nixon said when he signed the Legal Services Corporation Act in 1974, our justice system should aspire to “provide equal access to the system of justice in our nation.”
This is foundational to who we are as lawyers. Justice must be real. It must not be only for those who can afford guidance but for everyone, regardless of ability to pay.
Why Rural Matters
I come from rural Lincoln County. Growing up, we played barefoot, riding in the back of a pickup truck to go shopping at Roses. There was something deeply communal in the air — neighbors leaning on neighbors, folks supporting each other through hard times, sharing what they had because that was the way you survive and thrive in a place where sometimes you have little else. That background taught me what community means, and what responsibility means.
Rural communities are not just “underserved”; they are deeply vibrant places where legal needs are many, yet legal capacity is often thin. Some counties have only one or two attorneys handling dozens of civil cases, and many civil legal needs go unmet. By being there this summer, you have already shown how presence matters. You have shown folks in rural counties that the legal profession has not forgotten them — and that their problems, their rights, their dignity matter.
A Call to Lead
I hope many of you here will become public interest lawyers — that is work that changes lives directly, daily. But even if you do not follow a public interest path exclusively, you can support public interest work throughout your career.
Rule 6.1 of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct reminds us of that obligation: to donate to legal services organizations and to provide pro bono legal services each year. That is not optional; it is part of what we pledge when we enter this profession.
Together, in whatever sector you choose — judiciary, private practice, government, nonprofit — you can help ensure that our neighbors in North Carolina can access justice. Justice is not something distant or abstract. It is in allowing someone to have their day in court, to have someone explain their rights, to have someone care enough to serve. Our profession demands not only that we protect justice on paper but that we make it real in every county, every town, every person.
Summer 2025 interns and guests listen to Campbell’s keynote.
My Personal Story
For me, this work is not remote. My mother was a victim of horrific child abuse, and later domestic violence, and was charged with sheltering her children from that danger. Those experiences left indelible marks. They taught me early that the law can help — it can help a mother and it can help a family heal. It can also hurt. My mother swears that if she had not found a lawyer to take her case, she would have lost custody of my brother and me, and I can promise you I would not be standing before you today.
Not everyone comes to the law having lived hardship. Your call to justice might come from curiosity, from witnessing injustice, from family, from mentorship, from a single class or even from a summer internship like this one.
Whatever your story, hold it with you — it will guide you in moments when the work is hard, when obstacles seem overwhelming, when you wonder whether one voice matters.
Closing
In closing, thank you for saying yes — to showing up, to learning, to serving. To the administrators of this program: thank you for providing this life-changing opportunity. To NC IOLTA and the State Bar: thank you for investing in our future and in every rural corner of this state.
Let us remember: Law is not just the rules we memorize. It is the lives we touch, the fairness we demand, the dignity we uphold. Let us leave here committed: that wherever we practice, whatever we do, we will make sure justice is not reserved for a few — but available for all.
It is an honor to stand with you. I cannot wait to see how each of you will change the world.
As CEO of Legal Aid of North Carolina, a 2025 NC IOLTA grant recipient, Ashley Campbell leads 450 legal aid staff whose mission is to provide access to justice for more than two million eligible North Carolinians.
Read about the 2025 luncheon in our event recap, “NC IOLTA Hosts 2025 Public Interest Interns at State Bar.” Read more about the impact of the Pubic Interest Internship Program on participants in this story from our 2024 Annual Report, “The Most Rewarding Thing I’ve Ever Done”: Interning in a Legal Desert.
Legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly on July 9, 2025, bars NC IOLTA from grantmaking from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Consistent with the legislation, our 2026 funding cycle has not been opened.
NC State Bar Executive Director Peter Bolac provided an update to members of the Bar on Nov. 6, 2025. Details are available here. The NC State Bar and NC IOLTA continue to seek a resolution to preserve funding for civil legal aid, which plays a critical role in building a legal system that works for everyone, breaking down barriers and creating strong communities across North Carolina.