Belmont College of Law’s transactional and mock trial teams have experienced fantastic success this year, with teams and individuals earning regional and national recognition.
“Our advocacy program strives to put students in real-life lawyering situations and develop their practical skills, so they are ready to hit the ground running and tackle the challenges of their profession,” Professor of Law and Director of Advocacy Amy Moore said. “Belmont Law requires and emphasizes practical skills by requiring a practical class every semester and supporting our competition teams.”
National Champion Successes
Ally Bojczuk (3L), Kendall McMullen (2L) and Katelyn Watlington (3L) swept the competition and were declared national champions at the L. Edward Bryant Jr. National Health Law Transactional Competition, beating out 20 law schools across the nation.
“This championship was won as a team, through months of hard work and dedication,” Watlington said. “Achieving the title of national champion represents the culmination of months of teamwork paying off and the ability to represent Belmont on a national level, coming away with a successful outcome.”
The team’s competition work included preparing a memo proposing a specific transaction and presenting it to a mock board of executives.
“The level of competition at this particular tournament is fierce, featuring students from some of the best health law programs in the country,” Associate Dean and coach for the National Health Law Transactional Team Deborah Farringer said. “These women jumped in with both feet to tackle the problem by understanding its nuances, asking all of the necessary questions, and always being willing to listen to coaches and attorney professionals about how to improve and perfect their presentation.”
Belmont sent Emily Amin (2L) and Hunter Lindsey (3L) to the Brook Institute’s National Animal Law Competition where both students advanced to the semifinal round, hosted in person at Harvard Law School in Boston. Lindsey was crowned national champion and won the top award for his written work.
“It takes dedication to self-improvement to win at the highest levels of competition,” Law Professor and National Animal Law Team coach Zachary Barker said. “Mr. Lindsey coupled his natural gift for public speaking with years of honing his advocacy skills to create a winning formula for the National Animal Law Competition. His hard work paid off.”
Additional Advocacy Successes
National Trial Competition
Belmont sent two teams to the National Trial Competition (NTC) in Birmingham, Alabama. Each year, NTC draws the best advocacy programs and students from across the nation to compete in real courtrooms, in front of real judges and seasoned trial attorneys.
Nate Conder (3L), Garrison Luckett (3L) and Kaitlyn Phillips (3L) were regional finalists, defeating trial teams from Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee and the University of Alabama by wide margins. The team of Zack Kessler (3L), Jordyn Price (2L) and Heidi Woll (2L) defeated Northern Kentucky University, and narrowly missed the semi-finals.
American Association of Justice Mock Trial Competition
Belmont’s team of Zach Lambert (3L), Hunter Lindsey, Taylor Patton (2L) and Alexis Phelps (3L) were regional semifinalists at the American Association of Justice Mock Trial Competition. Caroline Caldwell (2L), Jackson Hasty (2L), Katie Ray Murray (3L), and Heather Perry (3L) also represented Belmont by competing on a team.
Magnolia Cup Negotiation Competition
Torin Shanahan (3L) and Mary Kate Tumelty (2L) represented Belmont and advanced to the semifinal round of the Magnolia Cup Negotiation Competition, a new competition for Belmont.