Texas A&M University School of Law Advocacy teams won another regional title and advanced to the national finals, leading to four teams placing in the top four in recent competition.
2L Lynne Nash and 3L Christian Holden won the Region 11 rounds of the ABA Client Counseling Competition in Lubbock on Feb. 7, and advanced to the national finals in Durham, N.C. in March. In the final round, our team defeated South Texas College of Law and our second team of 3Ls Amber Barger and Hisham Masri, who placed third. Both of our teams were coached by Professor Kay Elliott. Ten teams from Texas competed in the regional rounds, including additional teams from Texas Tech, Baylor, University of Houston, and Texas Southern. This regional championship marks the 19th in the law school’s history.
The regional championship team of 3L Mark Lister and 2L Bill Forbes placed fourth in the nation at the national finals of the ABA Negotiation Competition, held Feb. 6-7 in Houston. The Aggie Law team was the only team from Texas in the final round. University of Manitoba took the title. The team was coached by Chris Watts (JD ’00) and Pete Conlon. The Texas A&M team qualified for the national finals by winning the Region 8 rounds last November in Norman, Okla. Twenty-four teams from around the country advanced to the national finals.
In moot court, the Texas A&M Law team at the Lefkowitz Trademark Competition placed third in the Dallas regional on Feb. 7, narrowly missing advancement to the national finals. Team members were 3Ls Ola Campbell, Stuart Keplar, and Todd Smith, and 2L Kathi Hogan. The team was coached by Nikki Chriesman (JD ’09). Again, the Aggies were the only team from Texas to place, outranking teams from Southern Methodist University and University of Houston. Louisiana State won the title and Creighton University placed second.
Jennifer Ellis (JD ’05), Director of Advocacy Programs, says of the success, “We are very proud of all of our teams. The students and coaches put in many long hours in preparation of the competitions. It’s especially gratifying to have such a strong showing overall in one weekend, with every one of our four teams that competed placing in the top four in each competition.”
Learn more about the Advocacy Program:
The Advocacy Program at Texas A&M School of Law is a key component of making Aggie law students practice-ready. Directed by Jennifer Ellis, the Advocacy Program consists of three disciplines: appellate advocacy (moot court), trial advocacy (mock trial) and dispute resolution (mediation, negotiation and client counseling).
The Texas A&M Law Moot Court, Mock Trial and Alternative Dispute Resolution teams are nationally recognized. Since the law school’s inception, the program has received 3 international, 11 national, 19 regional and one state championship, 14 best advocate and 13 best brief awards.