RALEIGH, N.C. – Campbell Law alumni in North Carolina’s First Judicial District have worked together to provide financial assistance for a mock trial competition. The funds will support the single best advocacy student at Campbell Law who will be selected to compete at the 2015 Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition this coming June. The competition is hosted by Baylor Law School in Waco, Texas.
“This gift is just further proof of how special our alumni are and how much this place means to them,” said Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard. “We tell people all the time that our law school community is a special place, and that’s not just lip service. We are all lucky to be here.”
The collaborative effort was spearheaded by 1993 graduate L. Phillip Hornthal, III. He practices at Hornthal, Riley, Ellis & Maland, LLP in Elizabeth City, N.C. Approximately 10 alumni contributed to the effort.
“Our district is comprised of smaller towns and counties with much lower populations than our state’s metropolitan areas,” said Hornthal. “As such, most of our lawyers either work with small firms or are solo practitioners, and simply aren’t in a position to offer regular, substantial support on their own. This collaborative effort, however, allows the First District’s Campbell Law graduates to make a meaningful contribution to the school that launched all of our careers. The response to my email plea for support was swift, but not at all surprising knowing how strong our Bar is.”
The Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition is an innovative, invitation-only mock trial tournament that challenges the best individual student advocates from only the top 16 trial advocacy schools. These premier student advocates compete head-to-head as solo lawyers for the honor of being crowned the nation’s Top Gun advocate, with the winner collecting a $10,000 prize.
Unlike other mock trial competitions, competitors do not receive the case file until they arrive in Waco, a mere 24 hours before the first round of trials begin. Preparation includes reviewing depositions, records, and photographs, and taking a trip to the actual places where events in the case supposedly occurred. Shortly before each round, competitors are assigned a witness or witnesses who may be used at their discretion during the round. Distinguished trial lawyers and judges serve as the competition judges in each round.
Andrew Shores, a 2013 Campbell Law graduate and current associate at Ward and Smith, PA, placed in the final four at the competition in June 2013.
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.eduhttp://law.campbell.edu.
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