UNC School of Law

For the third time, the Institute for Innovation at Carolina Law made the trip to Kill Devil Hills, and this time, Executive Director Aaron Gard led the way.

Gard presented to members of Outer Banks Entrepreneurs, a group of 60+ businesses across the Outer Banks, Elizabeth City and the Chesapeake-Tidewater region of Virginia. The evening covered everything from choosing and protecting a business name to navigating trademarks and AI tools, with plenty of real-world stories (and a few cautionary tales) along the way.

The night closed with audience questions and a reminder that the Institute’s three free clinics are open to new clients each semester. It’s exactly the kind of access OBE founder Kim Twiddy wishes she’d had when she was just getting started.

Thank you to outerbanksentrepreneurs for having us!

Congratulations to Wade Hargrove '65 on receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UNC Law Alumni Association! 🏆

Wade Hargrove graduated from Carolina Law with Honors and built one of the most distinguished careers in communications and media law in the country. Over decades at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh, he served as general counsel for the NC Association of Broadcasters for nearly 40 years, testified before Congress on copyright and broadcasting issues, and was named one of the nation's ten most effective media lawyers by the National Law Journal.

His imprint on Carolina Law is lasting; he was a driving force behind the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, and the school honors his legacy each year through the Wade H. Hargrove Communications Law and Policy Colloquium. A career defined by excellence and a deep commitment to this school. We're proud to celebrate him. 🐏

Celebrating Juneteenth and the ongoing pursuit of freedom and justice for all 🖤

Congratulations to Jim Delany '73 on receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UNC Law Alumni Association! 🏆

A tri-captain of the Tar Heel men's basketball team and two-time Final Four participant, Delany went on to lead the Big Ten Conference for over three decades as commissioner, growing the league from 10 to 14 institutions, launching the Big Ten Network, and helping shape the Bowl Championship Series. Sports Business Journal named him one of the 20 most influential sports executives of the past two decades.

We're proud to celebrate his remarkable career and lasting impact on college athletics. 🐏

UNC School of Law is proud to announce the eight Carolina Law alumni and faculty who are being honored at Law Alumni Weekend this October.

Lifetime Achievement honorees:
🎓 Jim Delany '73: former Big Ten Commissioner who transformed college athletics over three decades.
🎓 Wade Hargrove '65: one of the nation's top media lawyers and a driving force behind UNC's Center for Media Law and Policy.
🎓 Richard Stevens '74: five-term NC State Senator, longtime UNC Board of Trustees chair, and UNC Distinguished Alumnus.

Distinguished Alumni honorees:
🎓 Pat Brown '86: CLO at SAS, leading 180+ legal professionals for one of the world's top AI and analytics companies.
🎓 Elizabeth Luck '89: the first person of color appointed Chief of the Defender Services Office at the U.S. Courts, overseeing 150,000+ cases annually.
🎓 Wilson White '06: VP of Government Affairs at Google, shaping global tech policy from Singapore.

Emerging Leader honoree:
🎓 Zac Long '12: CEO of Well Care Health, growing a home health and hospice organization to 700+ team members across 40 counties.

Faculty Excellence honoree:
✏️Professor Bill Marshall: First Amendment scholar, former deputy White House counsel, and beloved Carolina Law faculty member since 2001.

Congratulations to all eight honorees! Read more here: https://law.unc.edu/news/2026/06/unc-law-alumni-association-celebrates-2026-award-recipients/

Take a look back to last October when Carolina Law students took their advocacy all the way to the United Nations. 🇺🇳

In October 2025, students from our Criminalized Survivor, Detention, and Justice Clinic traveled to New York to support formerly incarcerated advocate Mona Evans in testifying before UN delegates, mission representatives, and human rights experts on the lifelong criminalization of survivors of gender-based violence.

Their work, including a collaborative civil society report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, is a powerful example of what it means to learn law by living it.

🔗 Read more at the Carolina Law Magazine here: https://magazine.law.unc.edu/spring-2026/unc-school-of-law-students-bring-incarcerated-womens-voices-to-the-united-nations/

Four UNC School of Law students received recognition from practitioners and national publications this spring for scholarship tackling real gaps in consumer finance law.

✦ Gabrielle Lanoue wrote on credit reporting accuracy and the Fourth Circuit's new standard under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, featured on NC Bankruptcy Expert.

✦ Carsen Masterton traced a loophole in North Carolina's Debt Adjusting Act enabling "façade law firms" to exploit struggling debtors, also featured on NC Bankruptcy Expert.

✦ MaKenzie Leonard will publish on the GENIUS Act's bankruptcy provisions in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal this September.

✦ Hunter Wright's independent study on bad-faith bankruptcy dismissals was accepted by the Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law.

Congratulations to these scholars on work that's already shaping the conversation. 🎓

We were honored to welcome uncprovost to Carolina Law as part of his Carolina Listening Tour! 🏛️

From simulation courses and clinics serving real clients, to externships alongside judges and public defenders, our students don’t just learn the law, they live it. This year alone, they contributed 4,800 hours of free legal services, including support for victims of Hurricane Helene, and with new AI literacy courses rolling out for all incoming students, we’re making sure every Carolina Law graduate is ready for the profession ahead.

Thank you for taking the time to listen, engage, and invest in what’s happening across our campus!