Students get top honors at regional competition
Stetson Law’s Trial Team competed in the National Trial Competition Region 6 contest Feb. 12-14, and though they fell just two points short of winning, two members claimed Best Opening and Best Overall Advocate.
“We are so proud of our advocates,” said Trial Team Coach and Trial Advocacy Adjunct Don Anderson, JD ’98. “We swept every ballot every round but lost by two points in the final round.”
Team members Francesca Naumann and Molly Goodwill faced Fordham University School of Law, University of Georgia, and Florida State University on the road to the finals, eventually taking on The University of Miami for the regional title.
Francesca “Frankie” Naumann won Best Opening despite having just been assigned the role five days prior, and at the awards ceremony they emphasized she had received a perfect score, Anderson said.
Molly Goodwill was recognized as Best Overall Advocate for the competition.
Each school was also required to recruit four witnesses prepared to testify in any role they were assigned in each of the five rounds. Stetson’s witnesses were Stevin Smith, William Linton, Lauren Cleveland, and Cami DiGiacomo.
The National Trial Competition (NTC) was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen students’ advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar. The program is co-sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. The regional contest was held virtually and jointly hosted by the University of Florida Levin College of Law and the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law.
Post date: Feb. 18, 2021
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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