RALEIGH — Two Campbell Law Schools teams competed in the Regional American Association of Justice (AAJ) Student Trial Advocacy Regional Competition over the weekend. The competition was held virtually via Zoom on March 4-7, 2021.
Advocates Summer Combs, Weldon Coates, Brianne Habit, Matt Hobbs and Mike Vitale finished second in the prestigious and highly competitive regional event. They were coached by Tatiana Terry ’19, winner of the 2019 Top Gun National Trial Advocacy Competition.
“I am proud of the student advocates that I have had the honor to coach this semester competing in the American Association of Justice Mock Trial competition,” Terry said. “They committed to putting in the time, effort and energy it takes to make it to the final round of such a prestigious competition. I have watched them grow as law students and I know that each of them will make absolutely tremendous trial lawyers in their respective careers (as many of their scoring judges agreed during the competition as well).
“While we did not obtain the ultimate result we hoped for, they had an amazing run and will still bring some hardware to our Campbell Law Advocacy trophy case. They have represented our school’s legacy of being competitive, tenacious and poised in the courtroom very well. As a current coach and former advocate, I am so very immensely proud of this team!”
Jacob Morse ’17, Campbell’s first Top Gun winner in 2017, coached Campbell Law’s second team made up of Kelsey Myers, Daniel Nelson, Jennifer Garcia, Meaghan O’Connor and Suzannah Davidson. While the team did not advance, they received high praise from the judges.
In 2019, Campbell Law advocates won the STAC Regional and went on to defeat University of Akron in the National Finals, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The AAJ Mock Trial competition seeks to inspire excellence in trial advocacy through training and education for both law students and practicing attorneys. The association accomplishes this goal in part by sponsoring the Student Trial Advocacy Competition, an annual nationwide mock trial competition. The competition is an exceptional opportunity for law students to develop and practice their trial advocacy skills before distinguished members of the bar and bench.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 4,300 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2021, Campbell Law is celebrating 45 years of graduating legal leaders and 12 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.