Two Texas A&M School of Law advocacy teams advance to the national finals with outstanding results at the Black Law Student Association (BLSA) Rocky Mountain Regional competition held in Houston, Jan. 15-18.

3Ls Shannon Barber and Courtney Shorts placed third in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition. The team was coached by Judge Matthew Wright (JD ’08). Barber and Shorts barely missed advancing last year when they were defeated by the other Texas A&M team, making this victory especially rewarding. 

2Ls Kris Anderson, Gregory Franklin, Jerek Hart and Jamillia Wren placed second in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition. The team was coached by Doug Greene.

The regional competition includes teams from law schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Both Aggie Law teams advance to compete in Portland, Ore., in March at the national finals.

This marks the second consecutive year that Texas A&M has advanced teams to the BLSA national finals in both moot court and mock trial, and the 4th consecutive year to advance a mock trial team.

Director of Advocacy Programs, Jennifer Ellis (JD ’06), congratulates these hard-working and talented students and coaches on their achievement.

“I am so proud of the time and effort put into the competition preparation by both teams,” Ellis said. “They had to put in a lot of hours over the holiday break to prepare for the competition, and it’s great that their hard work paid off.”

Moot Court team members 3L Courtney Shorts, team coach Judge Matthew Wright (JD '08), and 3L Shannon Barber with their RMBLSA regional trophy

Mock Trial team members 2Ls Gregory Franklin, Jamillia Wren, Kris Anderson and Jerek Hart with BLSA national board member 3L Michelle Gunter with their RMBLSA regional trophy

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, 18 regional and one state championship, 14 best advocate and 13 best brief awards.