A gavel on a judge’s desk. Courtesy | Wikimedia Commons

Chief Justice Mark Martin, the founding dean of High Point University School of Law, visited campus Sept. 17 to speak on the crisis of free speech in this country and the necessity of good lawyers to preserve the First Amendment. 

“To maintain freedom and liberty, you need to have lawyers who are committed to those propositions. Because freedom and liberty can slip away very easily, almost without notice, over time,” Martin said. “And lawyers are the architects of maintaining freedom and liberty in a nation with a written constitution.”

Martin served as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, as an associate judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and as a dean and professor of law at Regent University School of Law. He is currently the founding dean of High Point University Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law, which accepted its first class in 2024. 

One of the primary reasons behind the institution of High Point University’s law school is the crisis surrounding the First Amendment, according to Martin.

“One-third of college students believe that at least under some circumstances, it’s okay to confront speech that they do not like with violence,” Martin said. “I know not anybody in this room feels that way, but those are the metrics we’re dealing with in free speech in America. Frightening. What are the implications of this?”

He asked the question while pointing to a photo of the late Charlie Kirk.

“Should I say more here? A husband, a father — someone who simply shared his opinions on the key issues of the day — a tragedy that all of us know that shouldn’t have happened,” Martin said.

He said that free speech is paramount to our nation and was a priority for the American Founders. It should be understood as a key pillar in how we read and interpret the Constitution, particularly as citizens and especially as lawyers, according to Martin.

“Let’s start with the father of our nation, George Washington. He said, without free speech, we’re literally just like sheep being led to the slaughter,” Martin said. “Once free speech is taken away, it is no longer ‘we the people,’ it’s ‘we the government.’”

To protect this understanding of American principles and the legal role in safeguarding our freedoms, Martin started a law school. 

“I looked around and I saw that the law schools had become more and more separated from the bench of the law, so we’re training lawyers who become lawyers and who become judges, but yet we’ve grown alienated from the bar and from the bench,” Martin said.

Associate Dean of Admissions at High Point University School of Law Jay Shively, who visited the campus alongside Martin, echoed the necessity of a law school like High Point.

“And so if you go to a law school where you’re indoctrinated to one particular view, it really makes you less equipped to be successful and to accomplish things that you can accomplish as a lawyer,” Shively said. “So part of our goal here, in creating a space where free expression is encouraged, is to help our students figure out how to operate practically, pragmatically, in a place where they are trying to be effective for themselves or for their clients.”

Junior Faith Senne, who attended the talk, said she would consider High Point when applying to law schools because of its value-driven education model. 

“The points about free speech showed the importance of finding a law school that holds your values,” Senne said. “He told us that High Point Law, like Hillsdale, values free speech and accepts students based on merit — not demographics like other law schools might do.”

Both Martin and Shively drew comparisons to High Point and Hillsdale for the dedication to free speech and creating an environment where all are welcome to be tested in the rigor and validity of their ideas. But most importantly, Martin said, the school’s mission is incomplete without Christian faith.

“So what are the values of High Point University? Nothing without providence. We’re a God, family, country school, and we’re a safe place for everybody,” Martin said.

To close, Martin reiterated the necessity of well-principled lawyers. He said the lawyer’s pen becomes a weapon, but it is up to them to decide how they wield it. 

“Good lawyers can preserve, and indeed even save our republican form of government,” Martin said.