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).
“My 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,” said Essary. “We 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.”
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.
Different Perspectives
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.
“I 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.”
Essary noted the growing number of women who are judges and managing partners of major firms.
“I’m so proud that we’re 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’re trying to solve a problem, that’s a very good thing. And that augurs well for getting that problem solved,” explained Essary.
“Women 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’ favor.”
Divine Intervention
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’s career, she discovered he had written his thesis about the law.
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. “Moving across the country with my family to a state I had only visited twice, while interviewing for the job, I didn’t know what to expect,” recalled Essary.
What she certainly did not expect was a storm six weeks after she started at Campbell that destroyed part of the law school building. “So, 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?”
Campbell University’s board of trustees didn’t want to lose their crown jewel, but then-President Dr. Jerry Wallace supported Essary and encouraged the move.
World Champs
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’s 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.
In 2019, she helped coach the Client Counseling team, which won the world championship at the Brown Mosten International Client Counseling Competition held in Dublin. The team of Tatiana Terry ‘19 and Katie Webb ‘19 won the National American Bar Association (ABA) Client Counseling Championship, which earned them a trip to Ireland and the school’s first international advocacy title.
The key to success in client counseling is listening, said Essary, who co-authored the book, ”Client Interviewing, Counseling, and Decision-Making” with Campbell Law Adjunct Professor G. Nicholas Herman, published in 2009 and updated in 2021.
“Most of us who are lawyers like to talk. And even while we think we’re listening, we’re really thinking about what we’re going to say next. So, teaching the students how to truly listen is important because clients need to feel like they are being heard,” explained Essary.
“The 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’s the client’s decision, they’re going to put a lot of weight in what you say because they trust you.”
Peacemaker
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 “Blessed Are the Peacemakers.”
“Peacemaking is powerful. Not weak. It’s strong,” said Essary. “And 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.
“When I say peacemaker, it may be that my client wants some non-monetary concessions. Sometimes it’s an apology. It’s that simple. They really want to hear the doctor who might have committed malpractice say, ‘I’m sorry for what happened to your loved one.’
“There are times when lawyers must be warriors for their clients, but not all the time. I don’t 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’t want to be in that war.”
Innocence Commission
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.
“Innocent people sometimes go to prison,” said Essary. “Our criminal justice system doesn’t always work well. It usually does, but sometimes it doesn’t. 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.”
Proud to be a Woman
Essary’s 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.
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.
Essary received a 2012 Women of Justice Award from North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, which recognized women across the state “who have demonstrated leadership, integrity, service, sacrifice, and accomplishment in improving the quality of justice and exemplifying the highest ideals of the legal profession.”
“I’m very proud of the fact that I’m a woman,” said Essary. “But when I’m doing my job, I don’t notice that fact very much. I just do my job. I don’t 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’t do without a support system if she puts her mind to it and a lot of elbow grease. I really believe in self-determination.”
What I Hope They Remember
As she prepared to retire, Essary reflected on her teaching career. “I 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’re helping people. And I hope that I’ve been able to impart to them that this can be a fabulous profession,” said Essary.
“What I enjoyed about teaching was my students; I learned from them every day. They’re so quick. They have great questions. I taught material that I’ve taught for decades, and they asked me new questions. The nerve! But it kept it fun for 35 years.”
And when asked what she planned to do in retirement, Essary said, “Everything. Everything.”
