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Regent Law's Trial Advocacy Board Hosts Legal Studies Academy

On January 10-11, 2020, Regent University Law School's Trial Advocacy Board hosted the Virginia Beach Legal Studies Academy from First Colonial High School for a two-day Mock Trial Challenge. The Trial Advocacy team introduced them to the law school setting, and coached them in preparation for their mock trial district competition.

Trial Advocacy Board members spent the first day teaching the students how to prepare for a trial. The case revolved around the mysterious disappearance of Steve Irwin, and the defendant was charged with murder based on the suspicious circumstances. The students were split into six teams of two, and on the second day, the teams competed in two preliminary rounds, which culminated in a final round in front of Chief Judge Robert McLanahan Smith of the Norfolk Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court. A separate group of Trial Advocacy Board members spent two days working with a group of nine upperclassmen from the LSA’s Mock Trial Team who will compete in a district tournament on February 1.

The winners of Regent Law’s Mock Trial competition were as follows:

  • First Place: Defense team Maggie McConnell and Carolynn Ramsey
  • Runners up: Prosecution team Samantha Sherman and Anaiya Holman
  • First Round Best Advocate: Lucy Rudolph
  • Second Round Best Advocate: Riley Nichols
  • Best Final Round Advocate: Samantha Sherman


The Legal Studies Academy is a program designed for academically motivated students who demonstrate an interest in law or law related fields. The advanced four-year curriculum exceeds traditional secondary course standards and is designed to support continuous application of advanced reading, writing, oratory, and analytical skills. In addition, they Academy offers students the opportunity to experience the reality of law careers by emphasizing active learning in criminal investigations and Mock Trials in our courtroom.



"This competition was a blast,” said Marcus Mitchell, Trial Advocacy Board Chairman. “The Legal Studies Academy came into this competition very well prepared and extremely well coached. To turn around within 24 hours and deliver such a well-prepared trial is a testament to how well the students are taught over at First Colonial, and we hope to work with them again in the future."

Trial Advocacy Board Member Wes Jones was impressed with the positive attitudes and their willingness to be coached. “Both students on my team in particular came into the competition thinking they were going to be witnesses,” said Wes. “They ended up being lawyers and exceeded their own expectations by making it to the championship round.”


In addition to hosting competitions, Regent's competition teams continue to perform with excellence nationwide. The Trial Advocacy Board has won two national championships at the 2018 and 2019 Stetson Pretrial National Championship, and will be competing in three competitions this spring.

View all of Regent University School of Law’s awards and honors here.

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