University of Florida Named Champion of Loyola Law School’s First West Coast National Civil Trial Competition

Los Angeles, CA (November 18, 2002) - The University of Florida was named champion of Loyola Law School’s first annual National Civil Trial Competition at an awards banquet held Saturday, November 16, 2002 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The winning team included Kenneth Grace, Stacey Gross, Desiree Demonbreun, and Justin Warren, who were coached by Jennifer Zadalis and Karen Moore. They were awarded a permanent trophy for their school, as well as a traveling trophy which will be passed on to future champions. Ryan Kerwin, from Syracuse University College of Law, was named Best Advocate/Final Rounds; and Christine Ducat, from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, was named Best Advocate/Preliminary Rounds.

Fourteen ABA accredited law schools participated in the National Civil Trial Competition, which ran November 14-November 16, 2002. Elimination rounds took place at the US Courthouse in Los Angeles. Campbell University, Loyola Law School, Syracuse and the University of Florida competed in the semi-finals, with Syracuse and the University of Florida pairing up against each other in the final round; all of which were argued at Loyola’s Albert H. Girardi Advocacy Center. Each school sent a four-person team and argued a hypothetical wrongful termination case based on the Federal Rules of Evidence. Syracuse received the Finalist trophy, with Semi-Finalist trophies awarded to Loyola Law School and Campbell University.

All judging was done anonymously. Judges were drawn from the Los Angeles legal community, with many of them Loyola Law School alumni. LA Superior Court Judge Tomson T. Ong and U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Woerle of the US District Court, Central District of California, judged the semi-final rounds. Retired Superior Court Judge Frederick J. Lower, Jr. presided over the final round, with Browne Greene, Bruce Broillet and Brian Panish also judging. Also participating as judges were Timothy J. Wheeler, Mark Quigley, Christine Spagnoli, and Adam Shea.

The National Civil Trial Competition was created by Loyola to give second and third year law students an opportunity to develop and display the skills of a successful civil litigator, and was directed by Prof. Susan Poehls. The Santa Monica, CA. law firm of Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP sponsored the event and will also sponsor next year’s competition.

“Loyola’s National Civil Trial Competition was a success from every perspective,” said Prof. Poehls. “The students comported themselves as professionals and clearly set a benchmark for future competitors. By conducting elimination rounds in real courtrooms, they got a genuine flavor of what they can expect in the future. We are pleased that Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler will return as next year’s sponsor, and we look forward to building this event into one of the premiere competitions of its kind among law schools.”

“We firmly believe that early training and honing of trial skills makes for better lawyers and a more efficient legal system,” said Timothy J. Wheeler, managing partner of Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP. “As judges of this competition, we were heartened to see that the students seriously prepared for and presented their case, and feel that this experience will stand them in good stead as America’s future litigators. We are proud of everyone’s effort and look forward to sponsoring Loyola Law School’s National Civil Trial Competition in 2003.”