UA School of Law Trial Team Places Second in National Tournament of Champions

Akron, Ohio, Nov. 5, 2004 — For the second straight year, The University of Akron School of Law's mock trial team was a formidable competitor in the annual National Invitational Tournament of Champions Trial Advocacy Competition. As the defending 2003 tournament champion, UA's team placed second in the 2004 tournament held Oct. 27-30 in downtown Los Angeles.

Team members include John Antel of Parma; Rami Awadallah of Green; Adam Stacy of Blacksbury, Va.; and Adrienne Stemen of Cardington. They were coached by UA School of Law alumni Sean Leuthold ('95) of the Bucyrus firm of Leuthold and Leuthold, and Kimberlee Kmetz ('94) of the Youngstown firm of Harshman and Bernard.

UA's team swept through four preliminary trials defeating teams from Northwestern University School of Law, Drake University Law School, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and South Texas College of Law to make the cut to the semifinal round, losing only two judges' votes along the way. After defeating the University of Houston Law Center in the semifinal round, the UA team lost to Stetson University College of Law with a 2-1 decision.

UA's Adam Stacy was named best advocate in the preliminary rounds.

The prestigious invitation-only Tournament of Champions Trial Competition is sponsored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. Each year the law schools with the best records over the past three years in the Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America Student Trial Advocacy Competition are invited to participate. The law school that wins the tournament becomes the host of the competition two years later.

According to Coach Leuthold, national competition provides students invaluable experience that they normally would not get in the classroom.

“The skills that our students learn as a part of these competitions will serve them well throughout their careers as trial attorneys,” he says. “Students who are members of a UA trial team will graduate with advanced skills as they step into the courtroom.”

Since 1982, UA School of Law mock trial teams have won two first-place and six second-place awards in national tournaments, and 41 regional tournaments.

In their latest rankings, “National Jurist” and “Prelaw Insider” magazines rated UA's School of Law as the second “best value” juris doctor public school program in the United States, based on tuition, bar passage rates, unemployment rate, median grants, clinic slots and faculty-student ratio.

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