Competing among the top legal students in the nation, three Regent University School of Law competition teams recently placed among the top five and top eight at two national competitions.Two teams from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Board (ADR) placed among the top five teams in the American Bar Association (ABA) National Negotiation Competition in New Orleans Feb. 3-4.
Regent's Moot Court Board team advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Moot Court Competition (NMCC) held Jan. 30 - Feb. 2 in New York City, finishing among the top eight teams in the nation.
Regent Law's ADR teams were two of 24 teams competing at the prestigious ABA event. Regent was the only law school to send two teams to this competition, and those teams finished second and fifth in the nation. At the regional level, 228 teams started this competition. The University of Minnesota won the title, and other law schools in the finals included the College of William & Mary, Boston University School of Law and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
"These outstanding results are another confirmation of the rigorous training future lawyers receive in Regent's School of Law," said Regent president, Dr. Carlos Campo. "My congratulations to the students and their professors whose diligence and commitment to excellence brings glory to our Lord."
Hannah Carter and Chris Bell were the number two team, and Shiann Ashenbrenner and Braden Morgan finished fifth. Law professor Eric DeGroff coached the teams."I am deeply proud of these students and our coach, Professor Eric DeGroff. This result reflects great talent, dedication and tremendous effort—and the blessing of God! I wouldn't trade our advocacy training program for any program in the country," said Regent Law Dean Jeffrey Brauch.
Other recent Regent ADR wins include the 2009 Merhige National Environmental Negotiation Competition and the 2007 ABA National Negotiation Championship.
Regent's Moot Court team—composed of Tristen Cramer, Amy Vitale and Megan Donley—advanced to the quarterfinals at the NMCC, defeating teams from Pepperdine, Lewis and Clark, and Loyola New Orleans.
They finished as one of the top eight teams out of a field of 191 teams from around the country. Their competition brief was graded as the second best brief in the nation.
According to team coach Professor Mike Hernandez, "The NMCC is one of two true national championships for moot court," Hernandez said. "The other moot court national championship is sponsored by the American Bar Association, and we won that national title in 2006. Tristen, Amy and Megan did a phenomenal job."
Cramer won the award for the best oralist in the final round at the regional competition, and Regent's team produced the second best brief there as well.