RALEIGH, N.C. – Four Campbell Law student advocates recently reached the semifinals of a national mock trial competition. Third-year students Lacy Mau-McDowell, Peyton Murray, Harsh Patel, and Emily Anne Smith finished in the top four of the Lone Star Classic Mock Trial Competition, Oct. 16-18, at Saint Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. The team was coached by 2012 Campbell Law graduates Lauren Raynor and Maria Sotelo Hawkins.
The team’s participation in the competition was sponsored by Ogletree Deakins.
“I am so proud of these amazing advocates,” said Hawkins. “They worked extremely hard to prepare for this competition and that work definitely paid off. They were continuously complimented by the judges for their outstanding courtroom presence and knowledge of evidence. We were told by other coaches how impressed they were with not only our team’s advocacy, but their professionalism as well.”
The Lone Star Classic is widely known as one of the most competitive mock trial tournaments in the country, with 16 teams invited to participate each year. In addition to Campbell Law, this year’s competition included teams from Alabama, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Catholic, Emory, Faulkner, Florida Coastal, Fordham, George Washington, Georgia State, Houston, Maryland, South Texas, Stetson, and Texas.
The competition problem involved a murder case against a defendant alleged to have killed his friend and business partner. Patel and Smith represented the State, while Mau-McDowell and Murray represented the defendant.
In the first round of the competition, Campbell Law represented the prosecution against Buffalo. Smith and Patel were named winners after a long, aggressive round. In the second round, the team represented the defendant against a very well-prepared Alabama team. Mau-McDowell received glowing comments for her dynamic cross-examination of the investigating officer. In the third round against Catholic, Smith and Patel won their prosecution case in a hard-fought contest.
Throughout the competition, the team was complimented for their superior knowledge and use of the rules of evidence and their overall poised, professional approach to trying their cases. At the competition reception, Mau-McDowell received the tournament’s award for the best cross examination in the competition and the team was named as one of the four advancing semifinalists. In the semifinal round, the team was narrowly defeated by eventual tournament champion Texas.
“These advocates are tremendously talented and hardworking individuals,” said Raynor. “While preparing for the competition this team put in long hours and continuously met and exceeded our expectations. During each round of the competition they demonstrated a solid knowledge of evidence, as well as the ability to think on their feet and effectively work together as a team. They were outstanding representatives of Campbell Law, who impressed the judges, coaches, and other teams with both their advocacy and their professionalism.”
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW:
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law School has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. 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 3,650 alumni, including more than 2,500 who reside and work in North Carolina. In September 2009, Campbell Law relocated to a state-of-the-art building in downtown Raleigh. For more information, visit http://law.campbell.edu.
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