By Michael Abernethy, staff
August 26, 2025
A rising second-year law student, MacKnight plans to practice criminal law with a focus on juvenile advocacy. She is one of three WCBA scholarship recipients announced this summer.
Abby MacKnight L’26 was selected as a recipient of the Wake County Bar Association Foundation Memorial Scholarship, which honors outstanding law students.
Before enrolling at Elon Law, MacKnight spent eight years as a juvenile parole officer in Virginia, an experience that deepened her passion for the legal field and sparked her journey into the legal profession. Working with high-risk and violent offenders, as well as youth experiencing mental health concerns and severe substance use urged her to pursue a law degree.
“All of those experiences, and every kid I worked with, reminded me why I wanted to go to law school. I advocated for my clients every day in that role, and I can’t wait to be able to advocate as an attorney in the future,” MacKnight said.
Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, MacKnight is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in psychology.
At Elon Law, MacKnight is a member of the Elon Law Review and serves as a student mentor for the Class of 2027. She has also participated in Teen Court, the Innocence Project, Lawyers for Literacy, and the Expunction Project led by Legal Aid of North Carolina. She plans to participate in Elon Law’s Guardian ad Litem Clinic during her second year.
This summer, she is interning with the York County Public Defender’s Office in South Carolina, where she is gaining hands-on experience in court procedures and legal research while liaising with experienced attorneys.
MacKnight joins fellow recipients Angela Fristoe (Wake Forest Law) and Katelyn Gallimore (Campbell Law) in this year’s honors.
The WCBA Foundation Memorial Scholarships are awarded annually to “the best and brightest” law students or those about to enter law school who have Wake County ties. The scholarships are funded through donations, an annual golf tournament and late fees from district bar dues. The scholarship fund was founded in 1989 in memory of Edwin S. Preston Jr., former Wake County Chief Resident Superior Court Judge. Since its inception, the WCBA has awarded 82 scholarships amounting to more than $284,000.
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