Advocacy Program

Cynthia Goode Works, J.d., LL.M

AUWCL '92

Director

stephen s. weinstein Advocacy Program

 

Upon graduation from AU WCL in 1992, Professor Goode Works completed a judicial clerkship in the District of Columbia Superior Court. Following her clerkship, she worked as a criminal defense attorney at the renowned D.C. Public Defender Service. Works  then left criminal litigation and worked as a corporate and civil litigator and later as the Director of Training and Education for the National Legal Aid & Defender Association,  where she was responsible for the program development and curriculum design of continuing legal education programs for civil legal aid attorneys and public defenders across the country.

Professor Goode Works has a solid background in the academic arena, having held faculty appointments at George Mason University School of Law, Howard University School of Law, and AUWCL. At AUWCL, Goode Works has coached trial advocacy team students and taught evidence to 2L and 3Ls.

During her tenure as a professor at Howard, the advocacy team compiled an impressive number of accolades and titles, including being named as one of the top sixteen trial advocacy programs in the country, securing several regional championships, and culminating with winning the National Championship at the NITA Tournament of Champions Competition – a historic first for an HBCU. While there, she also taught in and managed the Criminal Justice Clinic component of the Law School's Clinical Law Center.  She concentrated her legal research agenda and teaching activities in the fields of reentry, criminal law and procedure, evidence, and clinical education. For her scholarship, Goode Works received the Distinguished Faculty Author Award from the president and provost of the university.

In addition to the practice of law, Professor Goode Works specializes in the development of advocacy training programs across the United States to law firms, corporations and government agencies.  Most notably, she has served as a faculty member and program director for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy in both their public and in-house training programs for almost 20 years, teaching in over 100 advocacy programs. She has also taught for Lawyers Without Borders and the National Center for State Courts in the Caribbean and Africa.

To complement the practice of law and the teaching of advocacy, she  matriculated to Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law’s innovative and highly selective LL.M. in Trial Advocacy Program where she received the Most Outstanding Advocate Award from her professors and peers.

Professor Goode Works is an accomplished trial attorney who was named a 2020 "Top Lawyer" by Washingtonian Magazine and maintained a private law practice located in D.C. and the Maryland suburbs handling complex and high-profile matters, prior to coming to WCL.

kristopher vicencio, J.d.

AUWCL '18

associate director training & competitions 

stephen s. weinstein Advocacy Program

 

Upon graduation from AU WCL in 2018, Professor Vicencio served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Richard S. Bernhardt in the Circuit Court for Howard County, MD. He then worked as a Staff Attorney at Maryland Legal Aid, where he provided pro bono legal representation to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Most recently, Professor Vicencio was an Assistant State’s Attorney for Anne Arundel County, MD, where he established and supervised the office’s new Body Worn Camera Review Unit, while he prosecuted cases in both bench and jury trials.

During his time as a student at WCL, Professor Vicencio was the Symposium Editor of the Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law and participated in the prosecution clinic where he practiced as a Rule 19 Student Attorney in the State’s Attorney’s Office for Montgomery County, MD. He was also a competitor for and on the Senior Executive Board of the Mock Trial Honor Society. As a student competitor, Vicencio’s teams were awarded the Ethical Advocacy Award at the National Civil Trial Competition, and finished as Quarterfinalists at the In Vino Veritas Mock Trial Competition, and Finalists at the National Criminal Justice Trial Competition. He also was the recipient of the Washington College of Law Alumni Award for his contributions to student activities and the progress of the law school.

Vicencio has stayed involved with the Advocacy Program at WCL, serving as a Mock Trial Honor Society Coach and has led multiple student teams to advance in their competitions, and individual students to win individual accolades. Vicencio also serves on the Paralegal Advisory Committee for Anne Arundel Community College in Anne Arundel County, MD. Before beginning his legal career, he served in the United States Air Force and maintains his connection with the veteran community as a volunteer with Service 2 School, a nonprofit organization that helps military veterans transition from active duty to higher education.

EDUCATION

B.A., University of Maryland, Global Campus
J.D., American University, Washington College of Law

Laura  a. polvinale, J.d.

AUWCL '01

senior program coordinator

stephen s. weinstein Advocacy Program

 

Laura A. Polvinale is a 2001 summa cum laude graduate of the Washington College of Law.  During her time as a student at WCL, Ms. Polvinale served as a Senior Staff Member on the American University Law Review.

After graduating from WCL, Ms. Polvinale joined the Washington, D.C. offices of Jones Day where she focused on employment law.  She then worked at boutique firms where she expanded her practice areas to include corporate and transactional work with a focus on investigations and corporate compliance. She is an active member of the Maryland and D.C. bars.

Ms. Polvinale, a first generation college graduate, is passionate about education and has volunteered for many years in D.C. Public Schools.  She recently served a one year term with a local non-profit teaching hands-on experiential food education lessons that incorporate growing and preparing nourishing foods with the goal of improving the health of children and their families.

EDUCATION

J.D., American University, Washington College of Law
B.A., Hood College

Success of the program is due, in large part, to the more than 100 legal professionals who teach, coach, and volunteer to support our mission. Area practitioners and judges impart their vast expertise as they teach a wide range of advocacy courses. The Advocacy Program also welcomes the expertise of faculty and other skilled practitioners, who have coached student competition teams to more than 25 national championships over the last 8 years. Adjunct faculty and competition team coaches act as invaluable resources for students and come together to build a formidable network of practitioners to support Advocacy Program students.

Adjunct Faculty

Team Coaches