Mercer Law sent two teams to the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Regional Moot Court Competition in Boston on March 1-3, 2018. Third-years Hannah Couch and Jena Lombard were undefeated, with a 5-0 record. They received an award for second best brief. Additionally, Lombard won an award for second best oralist. They are one of four teams to advance from this regional competition to the national competition, which will be held in Washington, D.C., in early April.
Second-years Clayton Kendrick and Addison Gantt advanced to round four out of five and had an overall record of 3-1. They made it into the sweet 16 out of 28 total teams and were in sixth place going into round four. In round four they were narrowly defeated.
Professor Linda Jellum coached the team and said, “I am extremely proud of all of these students. They worked extremely hard and represented Mercer Law well.” Additionally, Director of Development Leslie Cadle (’07), and third-year students Will Bennett and Jessica Haygood coached the teams.
The ABA Law Student Division National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) is the premiere moot court competition in the nation. It emphasizes the development of oral advocacy skills through a realistic appellate advocacy experience. Moot court competitors participate in a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The competition involves writing a brief as either respondent or petitioner and arguing that case in front of mock appellate judges.
