AUWCL’s Trial Advocacy Program Hosts Second Annual Coaches & Competitions Clinic
August 31, 2018
American University Washington College of Law’s Stephen S. Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program hosted the second annual Coaches & Competitions Clinic Aug. 10-11.
Attendance at the national clinic tripled from last year’s event, according to Professor Elizabeth Lippy, associate director of the Trial Advocacy Program. The clinic drew in more than 110 professors, coaches for mock trial, and moot court and alternative dispute resolution and competition directors from over 45 schools from throughout the country.
Open forums with national competitions featured the American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition, the Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition, the National Moot Court Competition, and the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition.
“This year’s Coaches & Competitions Clinic gathered a stellar group of advocacy professors and coaches to collaborate about best practices in Moot Court, Mock Trial and Alternative Dispute resolution competitions,” Lippy said. “In addition, the Clinic invited four national competition directors who offered open forums to discuss the rules of their competition and ways to better enrich student experiences at their competitions. This was a first ever opportunity to join the conversation with these prestigious competitions.”
Plenary sessions during the clinic included Ensuring Uniform Quality, a panel discussion featuring AUWCL Assistant Dean of Part-Time and Online Education Elizabeth Boals, and Implicit Biases in the Competition Realm, hosted by Director of Public Defense Reform and Training at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Bonnie Hoffman.
The annual event was co-sponsored by the NACDL, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), and the American Association for Justice (AAJ).