MCSOL Team Declared Regional Champion At National Appellate Advocacy Competition

March 15, 2007

Mississippi College School of Law students Michael Bentley and Karen Clay were declared one of the winning teams at the Washington, D.C. Regional Competition of the American Bar Association's 2007 National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) on Saturday, March 3, 2007. Bentley and Clay defeated the number 1 seed George Washington University School of Law in the competition’s final argument, and now advance to the National Finals to be held in Chicago, Illinois, March 29 through March 31.
                                                   
"It was great to go to Washington, D.C., and compete against some of the most respected law schools in the country," said Bentley. "And the fact that Mississippi College Law School was one of only four teams to be declared American Bar Association Regional Champions, along with two teams from American University and one from Georgetown Law, reinforces the quality of legal education that I have received at Mississippi College."

"I credit our success to the many individuals who helped us prepare for this competition," Clay said. "The Mississippi Supreme Court, our own MC professors, and various members of the Mississippi Bar here in Jackson selflessly took time out of their schedules to stretch our legal minds in ways never before challenged. We could not have been better equipped to face our peers in Washington, D.C. This will be one of the most cherished moments of my law school career."

MCSOL student Katrina Robinson joined Bentley and Clay on their NAAC team, helping write the team's brief and attending its practice arguments. Jennie Pitts and Spence Young also represented MCSOL at the NAAC regional competition.

"We never would have been successful without the extensive practice and preparation with Jennie Pitts and Spence Young," said Bentley. "We shared ideas, practiced arguments, and got great advice on what worked and what didn't work from both of them in the weeks leading up to the competition. They deserve recognition and credit for the work that they did and for the success that our team had as well."

MCSOL's NAAC teams are coached by Anita Modak-Truran of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada. Tiffany Mikkelson of Watkins, Ludlam, Winter & Stennis, and Meta Copeland, MCSOL's Director of Professional Development, serve as assistant coaches of the teams. MCSOL’s NAAC competitors have also received extensive assistance from Johanna Kalb, a law clerk for Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Grady Jolly, and Joanna Gomez, a law clerk for Chief Judge Henry Wingate of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Victoria Lowery, MCSOL's Director of Appellate Advocacy and Moot Court Board Faculty Advisor, advises the teams.

MCSOL's NAAC teams are sponsored annually by the law firm of Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush.