Professor Steven M. Virgil has played a significant role in shaping experiential legal education and community engagement at Wake Forest University School of Law. He is the founding director of several innovative clinical programs, including the Community Law Clinic, the Trade and Development Clinic, and the Veterans Legal Clinic. Through these programs, students gained the opportunity to represent real clients while working on matters involving economic development, small business formation, and access to justice for underserved communities. His work helped strengthen the connection between the law school, local communities, and international partners while advancing practical, skills-based legal education.

From 2013 to 2021, Professor Virgil served as Executive Director of Experiential Education at Wake Forest Law. In that role, he led the expansion of the school's clinics, externships, and practice-oriented training opportunities, helping integrate experiential learning throughout the curriculum and supporting the law school's efforts to meet evolving American Bar Association standards. His leadership contributed to Wake Forest Law's reputation for producing graduates prepared for the realities of legal practice.

Professor Virgil also served as the founding director of Wake Forest University's Institute for Public Engagement, an initiative dedicated to community-based research and teaching. The Institute connected university resources with pressing social and economic challenges and advanced the university's "Pro Humanitate" mission through collaborative public engagement and service.

In response to the challenges facing new attorneys during the Great Recession, Professor Virgil developed the Piedmont Law Center, a legal practice incubator that operated from 2009 to 2017. The program helped recent graduates establish solo and small firm practices while simultaneously expanding access to legal services within underserved communities.

His teaching and scholarship focus on poverty law, economic development, social enterprise, and cooperative business models. His work in economic development has received recognition from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2007. In addition to his academic work, he advises social enterprises, cooperatives, and community-based economic initiatives in the United States and internationally.

Professor Virgil is also an award-winning teacher and mentor, recognized with Wake Forest University's Joseph Branch Excellence in Teaching Award. He is known for combining rigorous legal training with mentorship, ethics, and a commitment to public service in courses such as Evidence, Poverty Law, and business law.