Interested in learning more about student life at Carolina Law? Our students are more than happy to share their experiences with you. If you would like to speak with a current student, please contact the Office of Admissions.
CLA Leadership
CLA President
Troy Reid
Education: North Carolina State University (B.S., Business Administration)
Hometown: Lexington, NC
Legal Interests: Civil Litigation
Campus Involvement: Holderness Moot Court Appellate Advocacy Team, Dean’s Advisory Board, First Generation Legal Professionals
Fun Fact: I have over 200 hours as a private pilot in six types of aircraft. I’m always looking for a new place to fly!
CLA Vice President
Sutton Orndorff**
Education: University of Richmond
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Legal Interests: Commercial Real Estate, Land Use & Zoning, Construction
Campus Involvement: First Amendment Law Review, Women in Law, Law Students Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, American Constitution Society, The Innocence Project, 1L Olympics
Fun Fact: I have a 2.5-year-old poodle named Bo Berry Biscuit
CLA Ambassadors
Fatimah Bajaha
Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Old Jewshang, The Gambia and Charlotte, NC
Legal Interests: Transactional law
Campus Involvement: Black Law Students Association – Treasurer and Pro-Bono Chair, Pro bono
Fun Fact: I was raised in The Gambia
Kallie Bergers
Education: University of South Carolina
Hometown: Northville, MI
Legal Interests: Banking Law
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Banking Institute Journal, Consumer Legal Advocacy Society, Women in Law, Dean’s Fellow
Fun Fact: I have visited 45 countries
Ethan Brinkley
Education: East Carolina University, ECU – Master’s of Science in Security Studies
Hometown: Benson, NC
Legal Interests: Administrative Law
Campus Involvement: Pro Bono, Federalist Society and OutLaw
Fun Fact: I am currently the head coach for a U15 soccer team back home!
Tyriq Brown
Education: North Carolina State University
Hometown: Clayton, NC
Legal Interests: Education law and Employment law
Campus Involvement: Civil Rights Journal, Black Law Students Association E-Board, Anti-Death Penalty Project E-Board
Fun Fact: I can solve a Rubik’s cube
Meredith Byrd
Education: Anderson University
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Legal Interests: Family Law, Public Policy, Youth Justice, Public Interest
Campus Involvement: Women in Law, SBA
Fun Fact: I have always wanted to milk a cow (since I was a little kid) and I finally did it this past spring in the Catskills of New York!
Maggie Caudle
Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Wilmington, NC
Legal Interests: Entertainment, Media, Environmental
Campus Involvement: First Amendment Law Review, Women in Law, Media Law Society, Sports & Entertainment Law Association, Environmental Law Project, Outlaw
Fun Fact: I won an RV trip on the Kelly Clarkson Show last year!
Carley Cook
Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Santa Fe, NM
Legal Interests: Public defense
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, trial team, Anti-Death Penalty Project, American Constitution Society
Fun Fact: I’m yoga teacher certified
Abby Cota
Education: University of Nebraska
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Legal Interests: Litigation, Sports and Entertainment Law
Campus Involvement: Women in Law, Sports and Entertainment Law Association
Fun Fact: I have bungee jumped off the tallest jump in the world!
Stephanie Duensing
Education: Pepperdine University
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Legal Interests: Entertainment, Real Estate, Transactional
Campus Involvement: Women in Law, Entertainment and Sports Law Association, Hispanic Latino Law Student Association
Fun Fact: I took a surfing class in undergrad!
Martina Essert
Education: University of Georgia
Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Legal Interests: Media, Communications, Trademarks, Copyright
Campus Involvement: Pro bono, Women in Law, OutLaw, Carolina Intellectual Property Law Association, Media Law Society, Sports and Entertainment Law Association
Fun Fact: I grew up on the coast, so I had a boating license before a driver’s license!
Robby Fensom
Education: UNC-Wilmington
Hometown: Fayetteville, NC
Legal Interests: Constitutional Law, specifically First and Fourth Amendment Issues
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, Moot Court
Fun Fact: When I was a kid, my family and I competed in a national Wii Games Tournament. My events were hula hooping and Super Mario Bros. We placed second overall in the nation.
Mya Fernandez
Education: UNC Charlotte
Hometown: NYC, NY
Legal Interests: Transactional: finance/corporate; Military and Veterans Law: VA appeals and upgrades
Campus Involvement: Moot Court, Military and Veterans Law Clinic, Hispanic and Latino Society Treasurer
Fun Fact: I used to have a class B drivers license
Brett Goble
Education: Centre College
Hometown: Georgetown, KY
Legal Interests: Transactional and Corporate, Capital Markets, Environmental Regulation, and Taxation
Campus Involvement: Journal of Law and Technology, Student Bar Association, Transactional and Corporate Law, Environmental Law Project
Fun Fact: I’ve walked El Camino de Santiago in Spain!
Katherin Godwin
Education: North Carolina State University, UNC CH — Master in Public Administration
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Legal Interests: Corporate, Litigation, Finance
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, Federalist Society, Saint Thomas More Society
Fun Fact: I have three children, and I live in Wake Forest!
Hannah Hall
Education: Michigan State University
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
Legal Interests: Public Interest, Entertainment Law, Transactional
Campus Involvement: Sports and Entertainment Law Association, Women in Law, SBA
Fun Fact: I was in professional theatre productions and operas until I was 20 and love to bake bread/pastries!
Matthew Heldman
Education: Emory University
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Legal Interests: Real Estate, Land Use Law (public or private sector)
Campus Involvement: Journal of Law & Technology (JOLT), Dean’s Advisory Board, Jewish Law Student Association, Environmental Law Project
Fun Fact: I am a huge Cincinnati sports fan!
Hannah Litty
Education: Auburn University
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Legal Interests: Criminal, International, Litigation
Campus Involvement: Journal of International Law, Women in Law
Fun Fact: I have a three-legged cat named snowball
Karolyn Martin
Education: Appalachian State University
Hometown: Columbia, SC
Legal Interests: Corporate law
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, Black Law Student Association, Dean’s Fellows, Dean’s Advisory Counsel, Teen Court Pro Bono Project, Women in Law
Fun Fact: I have signed up to skydive 3 times and it rained each time!
Patrick Kavanagh
Education: University of Maryland
Hometown: Millville, NJ
Legal Interests: Corporate/Transactional Private Practice, specifically in Washington, D.C.
Campus Involvement: Anti-Death Penalty Project, Transactional and Corporate Law Association, Run Club
Fun Fact: I spent five summers working in a shore-town pizza shop in New Jersey. Fun times!
Emma Poole
Education: Auburn University
Hometown: Leesburg, VA
Legal Interests: Regulatory and compliance
Campus Involvement: Dean’s Fellows, Journal of International Law, Civil Legal Assistance Clinic, Women in Law, Pro Bono, Transactional and Corporate Law Association
Fun Fact: I am a certified group fitness instructor!
Avani Putcha
Education: Vanderbilt University
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Legal Interests: Corporate, M&A
Campus Involvement: IAALSA, Women in Law, Transactional and Corporate Law Association, Anti Death Penalty Project
Fun Fact: I have the same birthday as both of my parents!
Kassie Rimel**
Education: Kenyon College
Hometown: Duncan, SC
Legal Interests: Litigation, Employment, Intellectual Property
Campus Involvement: Civil Legal Assistance Clinic, Carolina Softball Co-Captain, Women in Law, First Generation Professionals
Fun Fact: I was the first girl born in my family in 100 years
Sara Rich
Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Mooresville, NC
Legal Interests: Public Interest, Litigation, Family Law
Campus Involvement: Pro Bono, Women in Law, the Anti-Death Penalty Project, Carolina Public Interest Law Organization, National Lawyers Guild
Fun Fact: I am ordained and have officiated a wedding!
Julian Surprise*
Education: University of Vermont
Hometown: Champlain Islands, VT
Legal Interests: Transactional Law
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Banking Institute Journal, UNC School of Law Running Club, Carolina Public Interest Law Org., Law Students Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
Fun Fact: I have moved 13 times in 12 years
Sam Taylor
Education: University of Alabama (BA & MPA)
Hometown: Fayette, AL
Legal Interests: Financial, constitutional, and criminal law
Campus Involvement: Dean’s Fellows, and Banking Journal, Run Club, Federalist Society, Christian Legal Society
Fun Fact: I bought a ticket last minute and flew to NYC to watch Serena Williams’s final match.
TJ Picciotti
Education: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Hometown: Ocean City, MD
Legal Interests: Administrative Law, particularly in the energy field. I’m from a coastal region so issues pertaining to conservation and natural resource use in the Mid-Atlantic also excite me.
Campus Involvement: Environmental Law Association
Fun Fact: My most ambitious culinary venture involved researching, drafting recipes for, and finally making a burrito based on the cuisine of every state with my college roommates. North Carolina (pulled pork burrito with a Cheerwine BBQ sauce) finished 17th out of the 50.
Dalton Lutz
Education: Brigham Young University
Hometown: Hickory, NC
Legal Interests: I’m currently interested in all areas of legal practice and want to keep my options open. My goal is to explore many different fields of law to ensure I make an informed decision about my future specialization, without ruling out any area too early.
Campus Involvement: Sports and Entertainment Law Association, Transactional and Corporate Law Association, Run Club, Federalist Society, and Christian Legal Society.
Fun Fact: One interesting (and kind of funny) thing about me is that I can do a split, even though I’m not flexible at all. It just randomly happened one day—I wasn’t even trying to stretch or anything! Now it’s my unexpected party trick.
* Currently or previously served in the United States Armed Forces
** Undergraduate student athlete