Johnny C. Chriscoe
Professor of Law
Dean’s Award for Excellence
Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
Professor Johnny Chriscoe is Campbell Law School’s recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for 2024.
Chriscoe has made an indelible mark on Campbell University School of Law and the lives of its graduates. He has educated first-year students on complex legal doctrine for more than two decades using a mixture of life experiences, humor and passion. He has trained a generation of upper-level students in the professional skills necessary to be successful in practice
from the original complaint to the courtroom.
Chriscoe has a true gift as an educator capable of making complex legal theories accessible to every student in his tutelage.
Chriscoe joined the Campbell University law faculty in 2000 after a successful career in private practice. He was granted full tenure in 2017 and promoted to full Professor of Law in 2023.
Chriscoe has taught a variety of classes in doctrinal subjects and experiential simulations. He currently teaches Torts to first-year students and Insurance Law, Advanced Legal Analysis and Remedies to upper-level students.
Whatever the subject, Chriscoe is renowned for making the law come alive through stories, anecdotes and real-life application. He is also lauded for being an educator who deeply cares about student success. Chriscoe’s focus on student success, curricular development and commitment to teaching are vital qualities that make him a worthy recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for 2024.
Chriscoe brings charm and intellect into the classroom. His course evaluations for subject matter knowledge, teaching method effectiveness, and commitment to students are stellar. Chriscoe’s reputation as a witty, engaging teacher dedicated to making complex legal subjects accessible to all is best expressed by the following student reflections reprinted from recent evaluations:
- “Professor Chriscoe adds a memorable and humorous flare to what could be a rather dry course. His approach is unique and allowed me to have a laser focus on the material. Concepts that seemed complex were detangled in a matter of minutes. He’s clearly an expert in this area of the law and cares so deeply about his students. There has been a time (or two) where I have run into him as he was leaving for the day and before he could finish asking me if I needed help with a concept, he was already turning around to unlock his office, ready to stay until I knew the material. Campbell is incredibly lucky to have Professor Chriscoe among its faculty.”
- “Professor Chriscoe makes the course engaging and enjoyable. I appreciate that he brings real life lessons from the legal field into our lessons and really respects us as students. He is an incredibly kind person, and I am so thankful I had him during my first semester.”
- “Professor Chriscoe is able to boil things down for us so that we know what we need to know. He does not hide the ball. He is clear in the way he teaches, and the things we really need to perfect to ensure we are successful in his class, on the bar, and in practice.”
- “Professor Chriscoe made the material engaging and truly cares about his students. That speaks volumes about a teacher and the dedication to the subject they teach.”
- “His lecture and teaching style is riveting and easy to follow.”
- “Professor Chriscoe is a great lecturer. He teaches while telling stories, and this makes it easy to pay attention and understand what is going on.”
- “Amazing and intelligent Professor. He cares a lot about his students.”
- “Professor Chriscoe genuinely cares about his students and wants them to succeed in his class. He is one of the best torts professors in the country… “
- “He’s a great lecturer. He’s a great educator.”
- “Professor Chriscoe is just an awesome professor.”
- “I feel like you are not a Campbell Law grad if you did not have Professor Chriscoe.”
Chriscoe’s contributions extend well beyond the classroom. He is a respected academic who has published scholarly articles addressing issues affecting tort claimants.
Professor Chriscoe’s publications include: Re-examining Reasonableness: Negligence Liability in Adult Defendants with Cognitive Disabilities, 6 ALA. C.R. & C.L. L. REV. 1 (2015), Murder for Life Insurance Money: Protecting the Children, 58 S. TEXAS L. REv. 173 (2017), and A Plea to North Carolina: Bring Fairness to the Assessment of Civil Battery Liability for Defendants with Cognitive Disabilities, 39 CAMPBELL L. REV. 241 (2017). Professor Chriscoe has also contributed to the North Carolina practicing bar by authoring supplements to Shuford’s North Carolina Practice & Procedure – a primary source for North Carolina litigators.
Beyond his classroom pedagogy and scholarly success, Chriscoe is a leader in law school curricular reform and satisfies the mission of Campbell University School of Law. He was a founder of Campbell Advantage, the law school’s unique first-year law student success program — a program which he now directs and regularly updates. Professor Chriscoe has been instrumental in developing third-year Bar success programs and most recently crafted the law school’s program for educating law students in professional identity formation.
Chriscoe graduated summa cum laude from Campbell University School of Law in 1990. He was valedictorian in his class. After graduation, he began his legal career as a clerk on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and then transitioned into private litigation practice before returning to Campbell Law — first as an Assistant Dean of External Relations and then as an Assistant, Associate, and Professor of Law.
Campbell Law is fortunate to have such an exceptional professor, colleague, and friend who is committed to the lives and careers of its students. We take enormous pride in recognizing Professor Chriscoe for his excellence in the classroom.
J. Rich Leonard
Dean
Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law