Law Teams Win State, National Tournaments
Amock trial team from Baylor Law School captured first place at the ninth annual National Trial Advocacy Competition (NTAC) Oct. 25 in East Lansing, Mich. Baylor Law students Joel Bailey, Alex Bell, Kendall Cockrell and Tom Jacob were named champions after defeating a team from Georgia State in the finals.
The team was coached by Robert Little, BA '02, JD '05, who practices at the Waco firm Naman, Howell, Smith and Lee. A Baylor Law alumnus, Little was a member of the 2005 American Trial Lawyers Association National Championship team.
"These team members prepared and won while they were simultaneously working through the hardest part of our Practice Court program. Their performance--against outstanding law schools from around the nation--shows again the quality of the student advocates we have here. We're proud of our people," said Jim Wren, assistant law professor.
The invitation-only 2008 NTAC featured 26 teams from law schools across the United States, including five from law schools ranked in the top 50 nationally by U.S.News and World Report and an additional nine schools ranked in the top 100.
The level of competition at the tournament was very high," Little said. "I am extremely proud of the students who competed for Baylor. This victory is a testament to their hard work and dedication, as well as the advocacy training that they receive at Baylor."
Also in October, the team of Stephen Pocsik and Melanie Fry won first place at the 2008 Mack Kidd Moot Court Competition in Austin. This is the third straight year that a Baylor team has won the competition and the sixth time in 11 years. Additionally, Pocsik was named Best Speaker and Fry was named the fourth-best speaker in the 12-team tournament, which is sponsored by the Administrative and Public Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
"The team's success again demonstrates the talents of our students and faculty in interscholastic moot court competition," said Brad Toben, JD '77, dean of Baylor Law School. "Advocacy skills training is a front-and-center endeavor at Baylor Law School. The payoff for our focused efforts is always apparent in the successes of our students in competition."
The team was coached by Robert Little, BA '02, JD '05, who practices at the Waco firm Naman, Howell, Smith and Lee. A Baylor Law alumnus, Little was a member of the 2005 American Trial Lawyers Association National Championship team.
"These team members prepared and won while they were simultaneously working through the hardest part of our Practice Court program. Their performance--against outstanding law schools from around the nation--shows again the quality of the student advocates we have here. We're proud of our people," said Jim Wren, assistant law professor.
The invitation-only 2008 NTAC featured 26 teams from law schools across the United States, including five from law schools ranked in the top 50 nationally by U.S.News and World Report and an additional nine schools ranked in the top 100.
The level of competition at the tournament was very high," Little said. "I am extremely proud of the students who competed for Baylor. This victory is a testament to their hard work and dedication, as well as the advocacy training that they receive at Baylor."
Also in October, the team of Stephen Pocsik and Melanie Fry won first place at the 2008 Mack Kidd Moot Court Competition in Austin. This is the third straight year that a Baylor team has won the competition and the sixth time in 11 years. Additionally, Pocsik was named Best Speaker and Fry was named the fourth-best speaker in the 12-team tournament, which is sponsored by the Administrative and Public Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
"The team's success again demonstrates the talents of our students and faculty in interscholastic moot court competition," said Brad Toben, JD '77, dean of Baylor Law School. "Advocacy skills training is a front-and-center endeavor at Baylor Law School. The payoff for our focused efforts is always apparent in the successes of our students in competition."