Member Highlight – Associate: Donald Campbell
As a professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, Donald Campbell has a different perspective on the real estate title industry from the majority of the members of the Land Title Association of Mississippi. He primarily teaches legal ethics and property-related classes – including Property Law, Wills & Estates, Zoning & Land Use, and Construction Law. In his current role, Professor Campbell is helping to equip the next generation of real estate attorneys. “Watching folks that I knew as intrepid law students become successful is really rewarding,” he says.
Professor Campbell received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Paralegal Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1998 and a Juris Doctor degree from Mississippi College in 2001. While practicing law in Jackson, he handled various litigation matters from construction to personal injury to insurance defense to mass tort. After five years in private practice, he began the graduate program at the University of Florida and clerked with Judge Leslie Southwick of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit while finishing his dissertation. He received a master’s degree in 2012 and a Ph.D. in American Politics/Judicial Politics in 2016.
Over the course of his legal career, Professor Campbell has authored and edited several law books, written numerous articles, and spoken frequently on issues of attorney ethics and property law. He also serves on the Mississippi Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules, on the Collaborative Law Committee of the Mississippi Bar, and as a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal. His most satisfying accomplishments, however, have been the professor of the year awards received from students at the law school. Honored twice as Outstanding Professor of the Year and four times as First Year Professor of the Year, Professor Campbell acknowledges, “These are recognitions that I truly treasure.”
Of the many facets of his position at MC Law, Professor Campbell particularly enjoys teaching. “I love being in the classroom and conveying information that I know at least some of the students will use in their practice,” he explains. “I like to point to LTAMS as a group of folks who continue to use the knowledge they learned in property.” His mentor and former colleague Professor Jeff Jackson gave him teaching advice that has served him well: “(1) never take yourself too seriously; and (2) always know that you are not the smartest person in the room.” Professor Campbell also appreciates the law school’s unique location in the heart of Jackson within walking distance of the Mississippi Supreme Court building and the legislature.
In his free time, Professor Campbell’s favorite hobby is playing board games, and he looks forward to a weekly game night with family. He is also a fan of cruise ship travel and recalls a swim down an underground river in Xcaret Park in Cancun as an amazing, peaceful experience. An Alaskan cruise is high on his bucket list.