Melissa Essary was teaching employment law at Baylor University School of Law in 1991 while Anita Hill was testifying at a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing that Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).<\/p>\n
\u201cMy start of teaching sexual harassment within employment discrimination was with those hearings. Having taught employment discrimination law since 1990, I have seen more rights granted to women,\u201d said Essary. \u201cWe now have the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2023. Women have more rights on paper in the employment area. How those are ultimately translated to the workplace is obviously different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essary is retiring this spring after a 35-year career that included leading Campbell University School of Law as its first and only female dean for six years. She was instrumental in moving the law school from Buies Creek, NC, to its campus in downtown Raleigh in 2009.<\/p>\n
When Campbell Law opened in Raleigh, half of its students were women, a trend that continues today. Gen Z and Millennial women before them are demanding a work-life balance so they can have a legal career and a family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the law itself is a flexible career for women. You can find contract jobs, part-time jobs and more flexible jobs, particularly as you gain a reputation of being a great lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essary noted the growing number of women who are judges and managing partners of major firms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so proud that we\u2019re to that point in the profession. I think women and men sometimes bring different perspectives to the same problem. So, if you have multiple perspectives and you\u2019re trying to solve a problem, that\u2019s a very good thing. And that augurs well for getting that problem solved,\u201d explained Essary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen tend to bring a little bit more emotion to the table. That emotion can work in a very positive way and can bring a greater understanding of a problem. I think our emotions can work very beautifully in our case and in our clients\u2019 favor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essary was born outside of Lubbock, Texas. Both of her parents were educators. Her father urged her to become a lawyer. Years later, while taking a deep dive into her father\u2019s career, she discovered he had written his thesis about the law.<\/p>\n
Essary was in private practice for five years before embarking on a 16-year teaching career at Baylor. In 2006, she was offered the deanship at Campbell Law School. \u201cMoving across the country with my family to a state I had only visited twice, while interviewing for the job, I didn\u2019t know what to expect,\u201d recalled Essary.<\/p>\n
What she certainly did not expect was a storm six weeks after she started at Campbell that destroyed part of the law school building. \u201cSo, the question then became, do we spend millions repairing the building or moving the law school lock, stock and barrel to Raleigh, which at that time was the largest state capital without a law school?\u201d<\/p>\n
Campbell University\u2019s board of trustees didn\u2019t want to lose their crown jewel, but then-President Dr. Jerry Wallace supported Essary and encouraged the move.<\/p>\n
After serving as dean for six years, Essary returned to the classroom in 2012 teaching labor and employment law. During her tenure, the law school became more selective with admissions while growing the student body from 345 students in 2006 to 477 students in 2012; the school\u2019s teaching arsenal grew by 11 faculty members; and she helped establish academic partnerships with N.C. State University through the creation of several dual-degree programs.<\/p>\n
In 2019, she helped coach the Client Counseling team, which won the world championship at the\u202fBrown Mosten International Client Counseling Competition\u202fheld in Dublin. The team of Tatiana Terry \u201819 and Katie Webb \u201819 won the National American Bar Association (ABA) Client Counseling Championship, which earned them a trip to Ireland and the school\u2019s first international advocacy title.<\/p>\n
The key to success in client counseling is listening, said Essary, who co-authored the book,\u202f\u201dClient Interviewing, Counseling, and Decision-Making\u201d with Campbell Law Adjunct Professor G. Nicholas Herman, published in 2009 and updated in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us who are lawyers like to talk. And even while we think we\u2019re listening, we\u2019re really thinking about what we\u2019re going to say next. So, teaching the students how to truly listen is important because clients need to feel like they are being heard,\u201d explained Essary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initial client interview is what we focus on. That is the beginning of building that trust relationship such that when you advise your client what you think the right course of action should be, while it\u2019s the client\u2019s decision, they\u2019re going to put a lot of weight in what you say because they trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the COVID pandemic in 2020, current Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard saw that law students needed a place to meet outside. He commissioned renowned artist Thomas Sayre to create an outdoor meeting\/classroom\/study space and named it Essary Place. Its theme is \u201cBlessed Are the Peacemakers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeacemaking is powerful. Not weak. It\u2019s strong,\u201d said Essary. \u201cAnd if attorneys can understand that for their clients, there can be strength in peace, understanding that sometimes you do have to go to war, but if you can peacefully resolve a conflict and let your client be able to put her or his head on their pillow to sleep well, then the job is well done.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I say peacemaker, it may be that my client wants some non-monetary concessions. Sometimes it\u2019s an apology. It\u2019s that simple. They really want to hear the doctor who might have committed malpractice say, \u2018I\u2019m sorry for what happened to your loved one.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are times when lawyers must be warriors for their clients, but not all the time. I don\u2019t think you start by filing a lawsuit. So, the first thing a good attorney does, besides obviously figuring out what the problem and the law is, is helping the client understand what the client actually wants. People might think they want war. Most people when they get in a war don\u2019t want to be in that war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essary was appointed to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission in 2017 by then N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin. She served for six years on the commission, which provides an independent forum for credible post-conviction claims of innocence in North Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cInnocent people sometimes go to prison,\u201d said Essary. \u201cOur criminal justice system doesn\u2019t always work well. It usually does, but sometimes it doesn\u2019t. When I go to bed at night, I know that tomorrow I can wake up, get in my car, go eat breakfast, go to work, have a great life, see my kids, just live. And there are innocent people literally decaying in jail cells.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essary\u2019s community involvement with the commission was one of the vectors that earned her the honor of being named as one of the 2024 50 Most Influential Women in the state by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, a trade publication.<\/p>\n
She was also among 10 women who were recognized as a Woman of Change by the Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum in 2021 for being the first woman to lead the law school as dean and for her efforts in moving the law school to Raleigh.<\/p>\n
Essary received a 2012 Women of Justice Award from North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, which recognized women across the state \u201cwho have demonstrated leadership, integrity, service, sacrifice, and accomplishment in improving the quality of justice and exemplifying the highest ideals of the legal profession.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud of the fact that I\u2019m a woman,\u201d said Essary. \u201cBut when I\u2019m doing my job, I don\u2019t notice that fact very much. I just do my job. I don\u2019t think about it. That mindset frees me up to do the very best job I can, without feeling in any way hindered. I think that there is nothing that a woman can\u2019t do without a support system if she puts her mind to it and a lot of elbow grease. I really believe in self-determination.\u201d<\/p>\n
As she prepared to retire, Essary reflected on her teaching career. \u201cI hope my students will remember, No. 1, how much I cared about them as individuals. And No. 2, how much I cared that they become not just good lawyers, but great lawyers. And that they know they can have a fulfilling, even at times joyous, career where they\u2019re helping people. And I hope that I\u2019ve been able to impart to them that this can be a fabulous profession,\u201d said Essary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I enjoyed about teaching was my students; I learned from them every day. They\u2019re so quick. They have great questions. I taught material that I\u2019ve taught for decades, and they asked me new questions. The nerve! But it kept it fun for 35 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when asked what she planned to do in retirement, Essary said, \u201cEverything. Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The post Melissa Essary: \u2018I Believe in Self-Determination\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Attorney at Law Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Melissa Essary was teaching employment law at Baylor University School of Law in 1991 while Anita Hill was testifying at a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing that Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).<\/p>\n \u201cMy start of teaching sexual harassment within employment discrimination was with those hearings. Having taught employment discrimination law since 1990, I have seen more rights granted to women,\u201d said Essary. \u201cWe now have the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2023. Women have more rights on paper in the employment area. How those are ultimately translated to the workplace is obviously different.\u201d<\/p>\n Essary is retiring this spring after a 35-year career that included leading Campbell University School of Law as its first and only female dean for six years. She was instrumental in moving the law school from Buies Creek, NC, to its campus in downtown Raleigh in 2009.<\/p>\n When Campbell Law opened in Raleigh, half of its students were women, a trend that continues today. Gen Z and Millennial women before them are demanding a work-life balance so they can have a legal career and a family.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that the law itself is a flexible career for women. You can find contract jobs, part-time jobs and more flexible jobs, particularly as you gain a reputation of being a great lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n Essary noted the growing number of women who are judges and managing partners of major firms.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so proud that we\u2019re to that point in the profession. I think women and men sometimes bring different perspectives to the same problem. So, if you have multiple perspectives and you\u2019re trying to solve a problem, that\u2019s a very good thing. And that augurs well for getting that problem solved,\u201d explained Essary.<\/p>\n \u201cWomen tend to bring a little bit more emotion to the table. That emotion can work in a very positive way and can bring a greater understanding of a problem. I think our emotions can work very beautifully in our case and in our clients\u2019 favor.\u201d<\/p>\n Essary was born outside of Lubbock, Texas. Both of her parents were educators. Her father urged her to become a lawyer. Years later, while taking a deep dive into her father\u2019s career, she discovered he had written his thesis about the law.<\/p>\n Essary was in private practice for five years before embarking on a 16-year teaching career at Baylor. In 2006, she was offered the deanship at Campbell Law School. \u201cMoving across the country with my family to a state I had only visited twice, while interviewing for the job, I didn\u2019t know what to expect,\u201d recalled Essary.<\/p>\n What she certainly did not expect was a storm six weeks after she started at Campbell that destroyed part of the law school building. \u201cSo, the question then became, do we spend millions repairing the building or moving the law school lock, stock and barrel to Raleigh, which at that time was the largest state capital without a law school?\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell University\u2019s board of trustees didn\u2019t want to lose their crown jewel, but then-President Dr. Jerry Wallace supported Essary and encouraged the move.<\/p>\n After serving as dean for six years, Essary returned to the classroom in 2012 teaching labor and employment law. During her tenure, the law school became more selective with admissions while growing the student body from 345 students in 2006 to 477 students in 2012; the school\u2019s teaching arsenal grew by 11 faculty members; and she helped establish academic partnerships with N.C. State University through the creation of several dual-degree programs.<\/p>\n In 2019, she helped coach the Client Counseling team, which won the world championship at the\u202fBrown Mosten International Client Counseling Competition\u202fheld in Dublin. The team of Tatiana Terry \u201819 and Katie Webb \u201819 won the National American Bar Association (ABA) Client Counseling Championship, which earned them a trip to Ireland and the school\u2019s first international advocacy title.<\/p>\n The key to success in client counseling is listening, said Essary, who co-authored the book,\u202f\u201dClient Interviewing, Counseling, and Decision-Making\u201d with Campbell Law Adjunct Professor G. Nicholas Herman, published in 2009 and updated in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of us who are lawyers like to talk. And even while we think we\u2019re listening, we\u2019re really thinking about what we\u2019re going to say next. So, teaching the students how to truly listen is important because clients need to feel like they are being heard,\u201d explained Essary.<\/p>\n \u201cThe initial client interview is what we focus on. That is the beginning of building that trust relationship such that when you advise your client what you think the right course of action should be, while it\u2019s the client\u2019s decision, they\u2019re going to put a lot of weight in what you say because they trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n During the COVID pandemic in 2020, current Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard saw that law students needed a place to meet outside. He commissioned renowned artist Thomas Sayre to create an outdoor meeting\/classroom\/study space and named it Essary Place. Its theme is \u201cBlessed Are the Peacemakers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeacemaking is powerful. Not weak. It\u2019s strong,\u201d said Essary. \u201cAnd if attorneys can understand that for their clients, there can be strength in peace, understanding that sometimes you do have to go to war, but if you can peacefully resolve a conflict and let your client be able to put her or his head on their pillow to sleep well, then the job is well done.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I say peacemaker, it may be that my client wants some non-monetary concessions. Sometimes it\u2019s an apology. It\u2019s that simple. They really want to hear the doctor who might have committed malpractice say, \u2018I\u2019m sorry for what happened to your loved one.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThere are times when lawyers must be warriors for their clients, but not all the time. I don\u2019t think you start by filing a lawsuit. So, the first thing a good attorney does, besides obviously figuring out what the problem and the law is, is helping the client understand what the client actually wants. People might think they want war. Most people when they get in a war don\u2019t want to be in that war.\u201d<\/p>\n Essary was appointed to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission in 2017 by then N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin. She served for six years on the commission, which provides an independent forum for credible post-conviction claims of innocence in North Carolina.<\/p>\n \u201cInnocent people sometimes go to prison,\u201d said Essary. \u201cOur criminal justice system doesn\u2019t always work well. It usually does, but sometimes it doesn\u2019t. When I go to bed at night, I know that tomorrow I can wake up, get in my car, go eat breakfast, go to work, have a great life, see my kids, just live. And there are innocent people literally decaying in jail cells.\u201d<\/p>\n Essary\u2019s community involvement with the commission was one of the vectors that earned her the honor of being named as one of the 2024 50 Most Influential Women in the state by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, a trade publication.<\/p>\n She was also among 10 women who were recognized as a Woman of Change by the Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum in 2021 for being the first woman to lead the law school as dean and for her efforts in moving the law school to Raleigh.<\/p>\n Essary received a 2012 Women of Justice Award from North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, which recognized women across the state \u201cwho have demonstrated leadership, integrity, service, sacrifice, and accomplishment in improving the quality of justice and exemplifying the highest ideals of the legal profession.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud of the fact that I\u2019m a woman,\u201d said Essary. \u201cBut when I\u2019m doing my job, I don\u2019t notice that fact very much. I just do my job. I don\u2019t think about it. That mindset frees me up to do the very best job I can, without feeling in any way hindered. I think that there is nothing that a woman can\u2019t do without a support system if she puts her mind to it and a lot of elbow grease. I really believe in self-determination.\u201d<\/p>\n As she prepared to retire, Essary reflected on her teaching career. \u201cI hope my students will remember, No. 1, how much I cared about them as individuals. And No. 2, how much I cared that they become not just good lawyers, but great lawyers. And that they know they can have a fulfilling, even at times joyous, career where they\u2019re helping people. And I hope that I\u2019ve been able to impart to them that this can be a fabulous profession,\u201d said Essary.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I enjoyed about teaching was my students; I learned from them every day. They\u2019re so quick. They have great questions. I taught material that I\u2019ve taught for decades, and they asked me new questions. The nerve! But it kept it fun for 35 years.\u201d<\/p>\n And when asked what she planned to do in retirement, Essary said, \u201cEverything. Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Melissa Essary: \u2018I Believe in Self-Determination\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Attorney at Law Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Melissa Essary was teaching employment law at Baylor University School of Law in 1991 while Anita Hill was testifying at a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing that Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). \u201cMy start of teaching sexual harassment within employment discrimination was with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Different Perspectives<\/h2>\n
Divine Intervention<\/h2>\n
World Champs<\/h2>\n
Peacemaker<\/h2>\n
Innocence Commission<\/h2>\n
Proud to be a Woman<\/h2>\n
What I Hope They Remember<\/h2>\n