SCHOOL OF LAW

AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas School of Law's trial advocacy team placed second in the 2002 NITA Tournament of Champions competition held at the Law School, losing to Pepperdine University in the final round on Nov. 2. It is the third consecutive year that UT Law has advanced to the finals and the first time the Law School has hosted the nation's most prestigious mock trial competition for law students.

UT Law - the winner of the Tournament of Champions in 2000 - was represented this year by Naomi Porterfield, Craig Moore, Erin Anderson, Daniel Knight, and Daniel Bradford. The team went 5 and 1 in this year's competition, which began Oct. 31. Coaching the UT Law team were two Law School graduates - local trial attorney Stephen W. Harris of The Harris Firm in Austin and Mark Santos of the Prosecutor Assistants Division of the Texas Attorney General's Office in Austin.

The National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), widely regarded as the best trial lawyer-training program in the country, sponsors the competition. Each year the law schools with the best records in their districts over the past three years in the TYLA National Trial Competition and ATLA Student Trial Advocacy Competition are invited to participate in the Tournament of Champions. The law school to win the tournament becomes the host of the competition two years later.

Sixteen teams competed in the first four rounds of the competition. This year's competitors were Alabama, Baylor, Buffalo, Drake, Florida, Howard, Kentucky, Loyola - Los Angeles, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Pepperdine, Samford - Cumberland, Stetson, Temple, Texas, and Wake Forest University. The teams argued a civil negligence case.

Each team was guaranteed four rounds of competition. The Best Advocate for Preliminary Rounds and the four teams breaking to semi-finals were announced Friday, Nov. 1 at the Hard Rock Cafe by tournament director and UT Law School graduate Clint Harbour of Crampton and Associates in Austin. The four teams breaking were Pepperdine, Stetson, Temple, and Texas. Pepperdine and Texas advanced to finals on Saturday, Nov. 2, with Pepperdine winning. Allyson Rinella of Pepperdine was named Best Advocate for both preliminary rounds and final round.

UT Law was honored to have Judge William Wayne Justice, Sally Wittliff, and Tom Rogers judge the final round. Semi-final round judges were Judge Jim Coronado, Brian Engel, Sharon Baxter, Tim Sulak, Bill Davidson, and UT Law professor Pat Hazel. Teams and competition judges enjoyed mingling after the final round at the reception in the Law School's Jamail Pavilion.