RALEIGH – Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard announced today that Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP will financially support the law school’s advocacy program for the second consecutive year at the 16th-annual National Civil Trial Competition (NCTC). The firm’s support will allow Campbell Law to field one of just 16 teams at the competition. The NCTC, one of the most prestigious competitions in the country, selected Campbell Law from a field of more than 50 hopeful entrants.
“We are appreciative of Wyrick Robbins for once again believing in our student advocates and providing the means for them to seize this opportunity,” said Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard. “Wyrick Robbins has sponsored several of our teams in recent years, and our students have enjoyed meaningful and beneficial learning and practical experiences as a direct result of their generosity.”
Scheduled for Oct. 20-22 in Los Angeles, the competition is sponsored by Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and the Santa Monica law firm Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP.
Second-year Campbell Law students Nichad Davis, Tatiana DeBerry, Terra Johnson and Hannah Wallace will comprise the law school’s team at the NCTC. The foursome is coached by Campbell Law Director of Advocacy & Assistant Professor of Law Dan Tilly, as well as 2017 graduate Jacob Morse. Morse, an attorney at Wyrick Robbins focused on commercial litigation, won the prestigious Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition this past June, effectively ending his time at Campbell Law as the top student advocate in the country.
Last year, Morse and fellow recent graduates Dutch Entwistle and Casey Peaden placed second overall at the NCTC in the championship finals, with Morse being named best advocate.
In addition to Campbell Law, selected schools at this year’s NCTC include: American University Washington College of Law, Baylor Law School, Chicago Kent College of Law, Drexel University Kline School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Sanford University Cumberland School of Law, South Texas College of Law, Stetson University College of Law, St. Mary’s University School of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law, University of Alabama, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, University of Missouri, Kansas City, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, and the University of San Diego.
The competition involves 64 student advocates representing their respective schools on teams of four. The students will act as attorneys/witnesses to perform opening statements, conduct direct-and-cross examination of fact and party witnesses, make closing arguments, and argue objections based on the Federal Rules of Evidence. Each team will argue their case in front of a panel of judges consisting of prestigious members of the Southern California Bar.
Founded in 1979, Wyrick Robbins is an entrepreneurial law firm with a focus on growth-oriented businesses. Based in Raleigh, Wyrick Robbins handles financial and corporate transactions and commercial litigation, as well as other legal needs of dynamic operations. Ben Thompson, a 1979 Campbell Law graduate, is a partner and litigation section chairman with the firm. Thompson previously served on the Campbell Law Board of Visitors and was chairman of the Campbell University Board of Trustees. Tobias “Toby” Hampson, a 2002 Campbell Law graduate, is also a partner in the firm and heads Wyrick’s Appellate Practice Group. Hampson currently serves on the Campbell Law Board of Visitors.