Carolina Law Welcomes Class of 2028 with Five-Day Orientation Program

Dean’s Fellows stood at the entrance of the law school on Monday morning with genuine smiles, ready to welcome the newest members of the Carolina Law family. Inside, staff members distributed orientation packets, name badges, and swag, while the air was filled with the nervous energy of the first day of orientation, complemented by the aromas of fresh coffee and warm bagels. As 183 incoming students experienced their initial taste of law school life, they exchanged glances with classmates who would soon become study partners, future colleagues, and lifelong friends.

By mid-morning, the group had walked to the Carolina Club, where the advancement team greeted arriving students with Carolina Law backpacks, courtesy of the Law Alumni Association. Inside, the formal welcome ceremony began with Dean Martin H. Brinkley ’92, speaking at his final orientation as dean after announcing earlier this year he would step down from the role, delivering remarks that cut through typical orientation anxiety with startling directness. “You are going to get a job,” he declared, watching relief wash over faces in the audience. “You’ve chosen one of the top six or seven law schools in America for getting a job.” But his real advice dug deeper, urging students to resist the familiar trap of external validation that had driven them through years of academic achievement. “What would happen if you started validating yourself, your own real self?” he asked. “What if law school were a time to learn to love yourself just a little instead of a weary trudge in search of other people’s praise?” 

Twenty-five years melted away as Brian Meacham ’03 shared his own first-day jitters, when he’d questioned his decision to attend law school while his business school classmates jetted off on expense accounts. His story of meeting a supervising partner who turned out to be a fellow Carolina Law graduate illustrated the invisible threads connecting every person in that room to decades of legal professionals across North Carolina and beyond. “What I didn’t know then,” Meacham revealed with a grin, “was that my supervising partner would later be dean of this law school.” 

Student Bar Association President Maddy Calick took the microphone and scanned the room, making eye contact with as many new faces as possible. “If any of you ever need anything, reach out to your Dean’s Fellows. Reach out to me,” she said, her voice carrying the warmth of someone who’d been exactly where they were sitting just two years earlier. “If you don’t know where I am, you can often hear me laughing in the library.” 

The ceremony’s crescendo came when Judge Samantha Cabe ’02 invited the entire class to stand for the Carolina Commitment oath. Her voice carried the weight of courtroom authority as she led them through phrases that transformed eager students into legal professionals: “My career as a lawyer begins today.” The words echoed through the Carolina Club as 183 voices repeated them in unison, marking the moment when their legal education officially began. 

Today, those same students are scattered across the Triangle, serving meals at Orange County Meals on Wheels, sorting donations at Habitat Restore, and working alongside volunteers at the Durham Rescue Mission. It’s the law school’s annual Service Day, where community service meets community building, and where the ideals voiced in Monday’s oath ceremony translate into hands-on action. 

The week ahead promises sessions on everything from surviving the Socratic method to navigating student organizations, but Monday’s foundation has already been laid. As Dean Brinkley reminded them, these three years represent just five percent of their expected lifespan, but the Carolina Law community they’re joining will shape the other ninety-five percent in ways they can’t yet imagine. When Friday’s Welcome BBQ wraps up their orientation week, they’ll be ready to join more than 11,000 Carolina Law alumni who’ve carried Chapel Hill’s influence into courtrooms, boardrooms, and communities across the nation.