Stetson University College of Law’s moot court teams competed over the weekend to win a regional tournament of the American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition and win the Best Oralist Award at the South Regional of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

A Stetson Law moot court team advanced to the National Finals of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition after being named co-champions at a regional tournament in Boston, March 4-6.

The team of Darnesha Carter, Evan Dix and Jessica Ford defeated teams from Northeastern University, Quinnipiac University, Southern Methodist University, South Texas College of Law and Texas Tech University to be named one of the four co-champions. The team’s success marks the third time in the last five years that Stetson has advanced to the National Finals.

“Advocacy competitions require strong educational backgrounds, extensive preparation, professionalism, and the ability to perform under pressure. These skills are required in the legal profession on a daily basis. And once again, our students have demonstrated these skills on a national platform,” said Stetson Professor of Legal Skills, Associate Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy and Moot Court Advisor Brooke Bowman.

Associate Dean Michael Allen and alumnus Jason Stearns, J.D. ’08, coached the team.

More than 190 schools competed during a three-week period in six regional rounds of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition. A total of 24 teams were invited to compete in the National Finals in Chicago, April 7–9.

Another Stetson moot court team competed in New Orleans at the South Regional of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on March 5-6. Students Lauren Eliopoulos, Anna Kirkpatrick, Nicole Santamaria, Chloe Wells and Julius Matusewicz advanced to the semifinals. For the first time in Stetson history, a Stetson advocate — Lauren Eliopoulos — won the Best Oralist Award.

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