Planting Seeds in the Desert: Interviews with Legal Oasis Interns (Part 8)

In this blog post series, interns who are participating in the Legal Oasis Internship program discuss their participation in the program and why they choose to live and serve in an underserved area. Background on this program can be found in the initial blog post of this series. It is our hope that others will be inspired by these stories.

This post in this series is an interview with Isabella Malagisi, a 2026 graduate of Campbell Law School. 

The interview was conducted by James S. Perry, a small-town practitioner in Kinston. Mr. Perry is also on the Professionalism Committee with the NCBA and is currently the Executive Director of the Chief Justice Commission on Professionalism.

Isabella Malagisi is originally from Huntersville, North Carolina. She graduated from East Carolina University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Isabella is employed with Chesnutt & Clemmons, P.A. in New Bern, North Carolina. Following admission to the North Carolina Bar, she will continue her legal career with Chesnutt & Clemmons, P.A., where she looks forward to serving the New Bern community and Eastern North Carolina.

Isabella Malagisi

Could you share about your background and how you found New Bern and the firm?

I am originally from Huntersville, North Carolina, and I first became familiar with New Bern while I was attending ECU. ECU’s equestrian team was based out of a farm in Vanceboro, N.C., which is just outside of New Bern, so I spent a lot of time in the area. Later, while I was in law school, Tyler, my now-fiancé (who was my boyfriend at the time) was living in Newport, North Carolina, and I would pass through New Bern every time I went to visit him.

I always thought the area was beautiful. As my fiancé and I started talking about where we wanted to live after I finished law school, New Bern was the first place that came to mind. It had everything we were looking for: a strong sense of community, a beautiful historic downtown, and the opportunity to build a life somewhere that truly felt like home.

What are the things you love about a smaller community and in particular, New Bern?

I think the overall sense of community is my favorite part. I knew that I didn’t want to move back to Huntersville after law school, and I knew I didn’t want to stay in Raleigh, so no matter where I ended up, I was going to be starting over. I wanted to make sure I landed somewhere that I could put down roots, grow professionally and personally and become part of the community.

The best way to do that is to find people who are willing to mentor you, invest in you and help you make connections. Mr. Clemmons and everyone at the firm have made that possible for me.

One of the things I love most about my job is how hands-on the experience has been. I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of cases and be involved in every stage of the process. At a smaller firm, you’re not just observing from a distance — you are actively participating and learning by doing. Mr. Clemmons has made a genuine effort to teach me not just how to complete assignments, but how to be a lawyer. He takes the time to explain strategy, walk through issues with me, bring me to court and introduce me to members of the legal community.

I also think there is a misconception among law students that practicing in a smaller community means sacrificing professional opportunities or financial stability. That has not been my experience. I make a competitive salary, I genuinely enjoy the work that I do, and I don’t worry about the kind of burnout that many students fear when they think about starting their legal careers. I am treated like a person here, not just an employee. There has never been a situation where I was concerned that Mr. Clemmons would not be happy with the quality of my work. Instead, I feel supported, encouraged and challenged to keep growing. The pride I take in my work and the love I have for my job motivate me to do my very best on every assignment I am given.

I loved the work so much that during my final semester of law school, when I did not have classes on Fridays, I would drive from Raleigh to New Bern every Thursday night so that I could be at the office on Friday. I genuinely wanted to be there.

Mr. Clemmons, Joline and Denise have become like family to me. Being several hours away from home can be difficult at times, and having that kind of support system has meant more than I can express. They made New Bern feel like home long before I officially moved here.

The confidence I felt after my interview only grew stronger during my summer internship. In July of 2025, before my internship had even ended, I received a full-time post-graduate job offer from the firm, and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that this was where I wanted to be. Throughout my final year of law school, Mr. Clemmons allowed me to continue working on assignments remotely, but he always emphasized that school came first. If I was overwhelmed with classes, exams, or other commitments, anything he needed could wait because he wanted me to be successful. That kind of support is rare, and it meant a great deal to me. Mr. Clemmons, Joline and Denise regularly checked in to see how I was doing, and I always looked forward to coming back to New Bern to see them. They watched the livestream of my law school graduation, celebrated that milestone with me and have supported me through every step of this journey. Having an entire team of people rallying behind me, encouraging me and helping in whatever way they can has been incredibly meaningful.

Share how you and Mr. Clemmons met and some details about your first meeting.

After my second year of law school, I started reaching out to attorneys in New Bern about potential summer internships. I sent several emails and wasn’t having much luck getting responses. Around that time, I spoke with a friend who knew Mr. Perry. She told me that he was incredibly helpful when it came to connecting young attorneys and law students with opportunities in Eastern North Carolina, so she gave me his contact information.

Mr. Perry and I spoke on the phone, and after learning a little about my background and my interest in moving to New Bern, he told me he had someone in mind. That same week, Mr. Clemmons called me.

We talked for a while about why I wanted to move to New Bern, my background, my goals and my relationship with my then-boyfriend, now-fiancé, Tyler. At the end of the conversation, he asked me to send him my résumé, and we scheduled an interview for a few weeks later. He also asked me to bring Tyler with me.

When Tyler and I arrived for the interview, we spent very little time discussing my résumé. Instead, the conversation focused on who I was as a person, where I came from, and what I wanted out of life and my career. Mr. Clemmons wasn’t concerned with my class rank, GPA, or the number of extracurricular activities on my résumé. He wanted to know whether I would be a good fit for the firm and the community.

It was one of those rare interviews that you walk away from knowing something just feels right. I left with the strong feeling that this was exactly where I was supposed to be.

I understand that you actually turned down a job with a judge in Raleigh before you had received an offer from Mr. Clemmons’ firm. Was that a difficult decision?

Between my initial phone call with Mr. Clemmons and my interview, I received a job offer from a judge in Raleigh. The deadline to accept or decline the position came before my interview with Mr. Clemmons, which meant I had to make a decision before knowing how that opportunity might unfold.

After spending some time thinking it through, I decided to decline the judicial internship and take the chance on interviewing with Mr. Clemmons. Turning down a guaranteed job opportunity for an interview that may or may not lead to an offer would make anyone nervous, but for me, it felt like the right decision.

I knew that the position in Raleigh was not where I ultimately wanted to build my career. My hope was that if things went well with Mr. Clemmons, the opportunity could extend beyond a summer internship and eventually become a long-term career. Even though I didn’t have an offer at the time, I felt strongly that this firm and this community were where I wanted to be. It was a risk, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

What would you tell your classmates with regards to how they should look for a job in a smaller community? Do you have any suggestions as to how the career services and the Bar Association might better help students make connections with firms?

When it comes to finding a job in a smaller community, I think building genuine relationships is the most important thing you can do. For a long time, I thought networking meant maintaining a LinkedIn profile and connecting with attorneys online. To be honest, I still don’t really know how LinkedIn works.

What I’ve learned is that networking is really just about talking to people, asking questions and showing a genuine interest in the community where you want to live and work. The people in Eastern North Carolina have been incredibly willing to help someone who sincerely wants to be part of the community.

Reaching out to a complete stranger can feel uncomfortable, but those conversations are often what lead to opportunities. The impression you leave on people matters. In smaller communities especially, personal recommendations carry a lot of weight. Everyone seems to know everyone, and those relationships can open doors that you never would have found through a traditional job search.

My own job is actually a perfect example of that. The position was never posted online. It wasn’t on LinkedIn, Indeed, or any law school job board. Mr. Clemmons was looking for the right person through word of mouth, and I ultimately found the opportunity because I reached out to someone who was willing to help me make a connection. If I had limited my job search to positions that were publicly advertised, I never would have found the job that ultimately became my career.

As for Career Services, I think there is a tremendous opportunity to educate students about the benefits of practicing in smaller communities and the different ways those jobs are found. OCI programs are incredibly valuable, but many excellent small firms simply do not have the resources to participate in on-campus recruiting. Helping students understand that some of the best opportunities may never be posted anywhere, and teaching them how to build relationships with attorneys in the communities where they want to practice, would be incredibly valuable. Often, finding a job in a smaller town is not about applying to a posting. It’s about finding people who are willing to guide, mentor and connect you with opportunities you otherwise would never know existed.