National Trial Competition - 44th Annual - San Antonio, Texas March 27 - March 31, 2019 - netdna-ssl.com
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44th Annual
National Trial
Competition
IAL COM
TR
TIONAL
PE
TITION
NA
ES 5
TA
BL 197
IS H E D
San Antonio, Texas
March 27 – March 31, 2019
Hosted by:
Texas Young Lawyers Association and
American College of Trial LawyersWelcome to NTC! Welcome to the 44th annual National Trial Competition! You have joined the ranks of those national competitors who have exhibited exceptional talent for trial advocacy. We congratulate you in becoming part of this tradition, and we hope the national competition will provide you with an educational and memorable experience. The National Trial Competition was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen law students’ advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar. The program is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their legal education. It is the Texas Young Lawyers Association’s intent to provide a meaningful contribution to the development of future trial lawyers. Past winners of the competition have shared their memories of competing and one similar theme resonates: the experience has given them assurance of their abilities and valuable professional contacts. We hope that your experience will be just as meaningful and that your success in this competition will follow you as a successful lawyer. The Texas Young Lawyers Association wants to especially thank the American College of Trial Lawyers for continuing to co-host this competition. The competition could not exist without their commitment. Finally, we want to thank both the regional host schools for taking on the task of holding regional competitions and the many lawyers, witnesses, and other participants who contributed their time and energy to make the regional and national competitions a reality. Without the dedication of these individuals, this competition would not be possible. Good luck in the national competition! We hope you enjoy your stay in San Antonio. Joel T. Towner TYLA National Trial Competition Chair
The National Trial Competition
TYLA COMMITTEE
Joel T. Towner, Chair, Houston
Raymond Baeza, El Paso Sameer Hashmi, Austin
Christopher Bloom, Los Angeles, CA Ashley Hymel, Houston
Garrett Brawley, Houston Brantley Jones, Amarillo
Kimberly C. Clark, Houston Steven Lopez, San Antonio
Kirk Cooper, El Paso Scott Riddle, Dallas
Brandon Draper, Fort Bend Michael Ritter, San Antonio
John Ellis, Austin Lauren Renee Sepulveda, Edinburg
Jefferson W. Fisher, Beaumont Cpt. Atina T. Stavropoulos, Fort Knox, KY
Zeke Fortenberry, Dallas Louis Williams, Corpus Christi
Jonathan Garcia-Davalos, Laredo Jonathan Zendeh Del, Galveston
Courtney Barksdale Perez, Executive Committee Advisor, Dallas
Tim Williams, Executive Committee Advisor, Amarillo
Tracy Brown, Director of Administration
Bree Trevino, Project Coordinator
Michelle Palacios, Office Manager
TYLA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Sally Pretorius, President Tim Newman, Treasurer
Aaron J. Burke, Chair Victor Flores, President-Elect
Britney E. Harrison, Vice President Courtney Barksdale Perez, Chair-Elect
Tim Williams, Secretary Baili B. Rhodes, Immediate Past President
Special Recognition
This competition would not be possible without the
American College of Trial Lawyers
Jeffrey S. Leon, President
Gary Winters, NTC Committee Chair
Susan Daunhauer Phillips, NTC Vice Chair
Kathleen Flynn Peterson, NTC Regent Liaison
Dennis J. Maggi, Executive Director
Special thank you to Hon. Karen S. Townsend and Gloria Bedwell, authors of the
regional problem and Pamela Robillard Mackey, author of the national problem.
1Schedule of Events
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27
4:00 – 6:00 p.m. REGISTRATION AND WELCOME RECEPTION
Westin Riverwalk (Hotel Lobby)
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. COACHES MEETING
Westin Riverwalk (Sabino Room – Lobby Level)
THURSDAY, MARCH 28
6:30 – 8:00 a.m. Competitor’s Breakfast (for coaches and students only)
Westin Riverwalk (Sabino Room – Lobby Level)
8:00 a.m. Teams and witnesses check in at the courthouse
8:15 a.m. Judges check in at the courthouse
9:00 a.m. PRELIMINARY ROUND I
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch – Courthouse Cafeteria
1:00 p.m. Teams and witnesses check in at the courthouse
1:15 p.m. Judges check in at the courthouse
2:00 p.m. PRELIMINARY ROUND II
6:30 – 8:00 p.m. AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TRIAL
LAWYERS RECEPTION
Westin Riverwalk (Hidalgo Ballroom – Ballroom Level)
FRIDAY, MARCH 29
6:30 – 8:00 a.m. Competitor’s Breakfast (for coaches and students only)
Westin Riverwalk (Sabino Room – Lobby Level)
8:00 a.m. Teams and witnesses check in at the courthouse
8:15 a.m. Judges check in at the courthouse
29:00 a.m. PRELIMINARY ROUND III
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch – Courthouse Cafeteria
1:00 p.m. Meeting to announce Quarter-finalists (coaches only)
1:00 p.m. Teams and witnesses check in at the courthouse
1:15 p.m. Judges check in at the courthouse
2:00 p.m. QUARTER FINAL ROUNDS
7:00 p.m. NTC CELEBRATION DINNER
Announcement of Semifinalists
Casa Rio, 430 E. Commerce St.
SATURDAY, MARCH 30
8:15 a.m. Teams check in at the
H.F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
615 E. Houston St.
9:00 a.m. SEMIFINAL ROUNDS
12:00 p.m. Lunch for teams advancing to the Final Round
2:00 p.m. FINAL ROUND
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. COCKTAIL RECEPTION
Westin Riverwalk (Navarro Ballroom – Ballroom Level)
7:30 – 9:30 p.m. AWARDS BANQUET
Westin Riverwalk (Navarro Ballroom – Ballroom Level)
3National Trial Competition Teams
REGION 1
Quinnipiac University School of Law
North Haven, CT
Coaches: Christine Landis, Sean McGuinness, and Ryan O’Neill
Suffolk University Law School
Boston, MA
Coaches: Paul Caruso, Ben Duggan, and Timothy Wilton
REGION 2
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn, NY
Coaches: Christopher Dey and Michael Luongo
Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse, NY
Coaches: Joseph S. Cote lll, Justin St. Louis, and Joanne VanDyke
REGION 3
Duquesne University School of Law
Pittsburgh, PA
Coaches: Maggie Cooney, Anthony Hassey, and Andrew Rothey
Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA
Coaches: Brian McBeth, Steve Patton, and Zachary Wynkoop
REGION 4
The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Washington, DC
Coaches: Lindsey Mervis and John Sharifi
Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC
Coaches: Matt Covert, Paul Halliday, and Charlie Lemley
REGION 5
University of South Carolina School of Law (Two Teams)
Columbia, SC
Coaches: Kinli Abee, Matt Abee, Brett Bayne, and Creasie Parrott
REGION 6
Emory University School of Law
Atlanta, GA
Coaches: Annie Deets, Rhani Lott, and Kate Sandlin
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL
Coaches: Erika McArdle and Julia Metts
REGION 7
Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law
Ada, OH
Coaches: Hon. Terri Kohlrieser and John Willamowski
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH
Coaches: Elizabeth Cooke and Leah Sellers
4REGION 8
Faulkner University, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law
Montgomery, AL
Coach: Joseph Lester
University of Kentucky College of Law
Lexington, KY
Coaches: Allison Connelly, Amy Stutler and Caleb Taylor
REGION 9
Loyola University Chicago School of Law (Two Teams)
Chicago, IL
Coaches: Brian Devilling, Mike Ditore, and Samantha Ditore
REGION 10
Baylor Law School
Waco, TX
Coaches: Max Brown, Robert Little, and Sammy Rajaratnam
University of Texas School of Law
Austin, TX
Coach: Jodi Lazar
REGION 11
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
Dallas, TX
Coach: Tyler Eaton
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Kansas City, MO
Coach: Rafe Foreman
REGION 12
University of Iowa College of Law
Iowa City, IA
Coaches: Kimberly DePalma and Megan Merritt
University of North Dakota School of Law
Grand Forks, ND
Coach: Denitsa Mavrova Heinrich
REGION 13
Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School
Provo, UT
Coach: Peter Leavitt
University of Washington School of Law
Seattle, WA
Coaches: Felix Luna and Michelle Pham
REGION 14
University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Two Teams)
Berkeley, CA
Coaches: Derin Kiykioglu and Aaron Laycook
REGION 15
Loyola Law School Los Angeles (Two Teams)
Los Angeles, CA
Coaches: Roxanna Manuel and Susan Poehls
5National Trial Participants
Ruddy Abam Hailey Knab
Imaya Adris Samantha Kovalyak
Muhannad Al Nisheiwat Christopher Lambden
Taylor Arri Sean Lancaster
Brian Baloun Evan Larson
Madeline Beck Sara Leonetti
Weston Bell Adam Leydig
Matthew Boggs Bryan Luther
Grayson Bowman MacKenzie K. Mahoney
Caitlin Bozman Paxton Moore
Jennifer Brooker Madeline Moss
Chip Brookes Caitlin Murphy
Chris Brown William Neinast
Eric Burdette Edet Nsemo
Madeleine Burnette-McGrath Alex Oestreich
Frank Califano Amanda Olson
Amber Carpenter Sara Papantonio
Emily Christensen Christopher Paschal
Davis Clark Madeline Pendley
Michael Class Alexandra Poulson
Nathaniel Cobbett Jerry Rassias
Erin Corcoran Abigail Riffee
Gabriel Culver Laura Robinett
Nicole Dwyer Jade Rodriguez
Elisa Egonu Madeleine Rosuck
Nicole Enyart Megan Rudd
Brittney Frederick Amanda Sadra
Montana Funk Carson Sadro
Meryl Gersz Dennis Scanlon
Travis Gordon Ethan Scherer
Stephanie Grimaldi Ryan Shymansky
James G. Hasson, Jr. Erica Skogen
Micah C. Hawker Boehnke Alex Sloope
Sam Hobbs Kayla Smith
Jacob Hofferth Vania Smith
Abigail Hudson Billy Stevenson
Brandon Hughes Noah Stochl
Patrick Johnson Cory Thompson
Harley Jones Shayne Wilson
John Kimbrough
6Members of the NTC
Committee of the ACTL
The National Trial Competition Committee would like to recognize and
thank the following for writing the problems this year.
National Problem
Pamala Robillard Mackey
Haddon, Morgan & Foreman, P.C.
Denver, Colorado
Regional Problem
Hon. Karen S. Townsend Gloria A. Bedwell
Montana Judicial Branch U.S. Attorney’s Office
4th Judicial District Mobile, Alabama
Missoula, Montana
JOSEPH R. ALEXANDER, JR.
Joseph R. Alexander, Jr. is an attorney with The Alexander Firm in Houston,
Texas, where he practices with his son, Joshua. After receiving his degree in
Organizational Communication from the University of Central Florida, summa
cum laude, in 1979, he became a researcher for the Institute for the Study of The
Trial, an organization dedicated to psychological and communication research
into trial techniques. While there, he helped to develop what was later described
as “the model courtroom.” Mr. Alexander received his law degree from the Baylor
University School of Law, cum laude, in 1983, and since that time has had a wide-
ranging practice in civil litigation handling cases ranging from professional mal-
practice (on both sides of the docket) to product liability, aviation, oil & gas and
general commercial disputes. Recently, while representing a quadriplegic, Mr.
Alexander was instrumental in discovering a defect that resulted in a national
recall of over 1,000,000 bicycles. He has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in
America for his work in the area of personal injury litigation, is an associate of the
American Board of Trial Advocates, has been a Texas Super Lawyer since 2005
and is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
7GLORIA A. BEDWELL
Ms. Bedwell graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1980.
She practiced in the firm of Watson & Moore in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1980
through 1982, handling real estate matters and general plaintiff litigation. In 1982,
she was hired as an assistant district attorney in Mobile County, Alabama, where
she prosecuted felony jury matters until she was hired as an assistant United
States attorney in the Southern District of Alabama in 1984. Ms. Bedwell was
assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force in 1986, and pros-
ecutes primarily drug-related cases involving organizations operating in the dis-
trict and the Southeast. She received the Attorney General’s Excellence Award in
1991, recognizing her outstanding achievement in advocacy for the United States
during that year. She has conducted training for the Department of Justice at the
National Advocacy Center and for several law enforcement agencies in the
region. She is a member of the National Association of Assistant United States
Attorneys and was admitted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers
in 2011.
MONTE P. CLITHERO
Monte P. Clithero is a partner with Taylor, Stafford, Clithero Harris LLP in
Springfield, Missouri, where he has practiced since his graduation from law
school in 1978. Mr. Clithero graduated from Culver Stockton College in 1975 and
the University of Missouri - Columbia, School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1978.
He has practiced primarily in the areas of personal injury defense, medical mal-
practice defense, legal malpractice defense, and construction defect defense over
the last thirty years or so. He is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, a
Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow in Litigation Counsel
of America, and also a member of the American Bar Association, Springfield
Metropolitan Bar Association, International Association of Defense Counsel, and
the Defense Research Institute. He has been recognized in Best Lawyers in
America and Missouri-Kansas Super Lawyers for over a decade. He was the
author of the chapter Vexatious Refusal to Pay Insurance Claims in the Missouri
Bar Desk Book, CLE in 2000. He has been a frequent presenter of trial practice
demonstrations in seminars in the State of Missouri. Mr. Clithero is currently the
Vice Chair of the Missouri State Committee of the American College of Trial
Lawyers.
JOSEPH C. CRAWFORD
Joseph C. Crawford is a Partner in Pepper Hamilton LLP based in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He represents individuals, lawyers, law firms and corporations in
a broad civil litigation practice and has tried cases in many areas of the law,
including fraud, breach of contract, product liability, securities, defamation,
insurance, cases arising out of mergers and acquisitions and death penalty litiga-
tion. He graduated with honors from St. Joseph’s College in 1976 and also from
the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1979, where he served as Articles
Editor of the Law Review. He has been a Fellow of American College of Trial
Lawyers since 2003.
8SALLY J. FERGUSON
Sally J. Ferguson is a shareholder with Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak &
Pikala, P.A., in Minneapolis. She is the chair of the firm’s Professional Liability
Practice Group. Sally’s extensive trial experience includes defense of hospitals,
doctors, other healthcare providers, lawyers, schools and railroads. She is a
Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She is a member of the College’s
National Trial Competition Committee and chair of the Sandra Day O’Connor
Jurist Award Committee. Sally is a member of the American Board of Trial
Advocates and serves on the Executive Committee for Minnesota. She is a fellow
of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a fellow of the International
Society of Barristers. She is the past President of the Amdahl Inn of Court. Sally
received her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in 1981. She has
been named a Top 50 Female Super Lawyer and Top 100 Super Lawyer in
Minnesota.
C. SCOTT GREENE
Scott Greene is a Partner with Bryan Cave LLP. He graduated from Vanderbilt
University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979 and from Duke University
School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree in 1982. He is a member of both the
Georgia and California bars. Mr. Greene has a national practice as a trial lawyer
for corporations, most recently concentrating in the financial services and energy
industries. In addition to his trial experience, Mr. Greene has extensive experience
with arbitration cases and has served as a commercial arbitrator with the
American Arbitration Association for over 20 years. Mr. Greene became a Fellow
of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2016 and currently serves on the
Georgia State Committee.
CELESTE S. HIGGINS
Celeste Higgins is a criminal defense attorney and currently the Acting Director
of the Litigation Skills Program at The University of Miami, School of Law. She
obtained a B.B.A. in the field of Finance from the University of Miami, School of
Business and a J.D. from the University of Miami, School of Law. Higgins clerked
for the Hon. Chief Judge Federico A. Moreno, Southern District of Florida after
which she joined the office of the Federal Public Defender for the Southern
District of Florida. Over the course of 25 years at the Federal Public Defender’s
office, Higgins was a supervisor and tried over 100 federal trials to jury in various
areas of law including: narcotics, firearms, immigration, crimes on the high seas,
terrorism, civil rights violations and various areas of fraud (tax, mortgage, health
care and securities). Higgins was an adjunct faculty member of the University of
Miami, School of Law for 17 years before taking on the position of Associate
Director. She has worked extensively as an international trial consultant in Rule
of Law Initiative programs with the American Bar Association, NITA, and inde-
pendent groups in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Panama.
9TIMOTHY C. HOUPT
Timothy C. Houpt has more than 30 years of experience representing individuals
and businesses in lawsuits before federal and state courts, administrative agen-
cies and in mediations and arbitrations and is currently with JonesWaldo. His lit-
igation experience includes commercial disputes, franchising, employment, secu-
rities, insurance, intellectual property and ERISA. He also provides mediation,
assisting others in reasonably resolving their disputes and, in turn, enhancing his
skills at representing his own clients. Tim’s career began as a law clerk Chief
Judge Willis Ritter, U.S. District Court, District of Utah. He was an Adjunct
Professor of Law, Trial Advocacy, University of Utah College of Law for seven
years and is Past President of Watkiss Sutherland Inn of the American Inns of
Court. Tim received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in
1972 and his JD from the S.J. Quinney College of law at the University of Utah.
JOHN C. HUESTON
John Hueston, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is one of the
nation’s most highly regarded trial attorneys. As the co-founder of a 50-attorney
business trials firm, he has served as lead trial counsel for Fortune 500 companies,
tech industry giants and governments in a variety of matters, including business
disputes, trademark infringement cases, and environmental cases. Mr. Hueston’s
trial work includes a $5.15 billion award after trial in an environmental bankrupt-
cy case and his role as co-lead prosecutor in the Enron case against Skilling and
Lay. Mr. Hueston also devotes a substantial part of his practice to internal inves-
tigations, corporate crisis management and white collar criminal defense. For his
groundbreaking work, he has been repeatedly recognized as a leading lawyer by
Chambers & Partners, Benchmark Litigation and other prominent legal industry
outlets. Mr. Hueston graduated from Yale Law School and served as a law clerk
for the Honorable Frank M. Johnson, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers’
National Trial Competition Committee and Federal Rules of Evidence
Committee. He is also the National Co-Chair of the ABA White Collar Crime
Committee.
PAMELA ROBILLARD MACKEY
Pamela Mackey practices primarily in the areas of criminal defense, complex civil
litigation, environmental litigation, and government investigations. She is well-
regarded for her successful work in many high-visibility cases in state and federal
courts across the country, including her defense of Kobe Bryant. After graduating
with honors from the George Washington University Law School in 1985, Pamela
joined the law firm of Davis, Graham & Stubbs in Denver practicing primarily in
the area of product liability. From there she came to Haddon, Morgan and
Foreman as an Associate Attorney in 1987 to pursue her passion for litigation. She
left the firm in 1989 to serve as Deputy State Public Defender for five years and
returned to Haddon, Morgan and Foreman in 1994. Pamela is known as a tena-
cious advocate for her clients and for her keen ability to quickly assess the
strengths and weakness of a case and develop effective strategies to advance her
clients’ interests. Highly regarded for her courtroom skills, Pamela is frequently
asked to teach trial advocacy skills to lawyers and law students around the coun-
try, including Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop, and the American
College of Trial Lawyers National Trial Competition.
10RONALD H. MCLEAN
Ronald McLean has been a Trial Lawyer at Serkland Law Firm since he graduated
from law school in 1975. Areas of Practice: Products Liability, Personal Injury, Oil
and Gas, Class Action, Business Dispute Litigation, Insurance Law, Employment
Law, Professional Ethics Disputes, Business Torts, Intellectual Property. He is
involved in the defense of clients in mass tort claims. In recent years, he has reg-
ularly represented oil and gas industry involving catastrophic injuries claims. He
has been able to successfully resolve the matters pretrial and at trial. He devotes
a substantial portion of his practice defending lawyers and law firms in profes-
sional malpractice claims and professional responsibility claims. Participated in
over 50 jury trials to conclusion and has tried over 100 court trials. He represents
the City of Fargo on its litigation. He is a Special Assistant Attorney General rep-
resenting the State of North Dakota on occasional litigation matters. He has rep-
resented the North Dakota Board of Law Examiners. He received is JD from the
University of North Dakota School of Law in 1975 and his undergraduate degree
with Honors from the University of Wisconsin in 1972.
LAURA A. MENNINGER
Laura A. Menninger practices criminal defense and complex civil litigation as a
shareholder at Haddon, Morgan & Foreman, P.C. in Denver. She previously
served as a Colorado Deputy Public Defender and as an associate with Paul,
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York City. She is a fellow in the
American College of Trial Lawyers, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for
White-Collar Criminal Defense (2015-19) and 5280 Top Lawyer for Criminal
Defense (2016-19). Laura received her J.D. with distinction from Stanford Law
School in 1997 where she was an associate editor of the Stanford Law Review. She
graduated with an A.B. in public policy studies from Duke University in 1991,
magna cum laude. She currently serves on the Criminal Justice Act Standing
Committee and as Secretary of Women’s White Collar Criminal Defense
Association, Denver Chapter. Laura has frequently lectured on criminal proce-
dure and motions and trial practice throughout Colorado and has co-authored
“Professional Defense of the Accused,” Lawyers’ Professional Liability in Colorado,
since 2009.
DONALD R. MORIN
My practice focuses on the defense of medical malpractice claims, health profes-
sional representation and counseling, other professional liability defense, person-
al injury defense of any claims of catastrophic injury, commercial litigation, and
significant plaintiff’s personal injury claims. I also work with insurance clients
and commercial clients on risk management issues. I have been trying jury trials
since 1980 and medical malpractice claims since 1982. I began my legal career in
St. Louis, Missouri in 1978 and I moved to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991, where
I am now. My practice extends from Charlottesville and Richmond through the
Central Virginia into the Shenandoah Valley. I appear both in state and federal
courts throughout Virginia. I was honored to serve as President of the
Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association and as President of the Thomas
Jefferson Inn of Court in Charlottesville, as well as Virginia State Committee
Chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers from 2014 to 2016.
11LYNN H. MURRAY
Lynn Murray is a partner with Shook Hardy & Bacon, and serves as the
Managing Partner for Shook’s Chicago office. She graduated from the University
of Illinois College of Law with high honors, and has been a successful trial lawyer
for more than 30 years. Ms. Murray’s work spans diverse subject matter, includ-
ing intellectual property, insurance coverage, product liability, contracts,
antitrust, class actions and age discrimination. She is a fellow of the American
College of Trial Lawyers, where she serves on the National Trial Competition
Committee and the Federal Rules of Evidence Committee. Ms. Murray is a fre-
quent speaker and writer on trial-related topics, including as the author of several
chapters in the DRI “Trial Compendium” and Law 360’s Avoiding Double
Damages: 3 Practical Tips And A Hail Mary. She teaches Advanced Trial
Advocacy for the University of Illinois College of Law, is Chambers USA ranked
and has been repeatedly selected by her peers as a “Business Litigation Super
Lawyer” and one of the “Top Women Attorneys in Illinois.”
JOHN W. PHILLIPS
John is a native of Franklin, Kentucky. He graduated from the University of
Kentucky, where he was selected to Phi Beta Kappa, and also attended Oxford
University. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kentucky
in 1981 where he was a member of the Moot Court Board and the Kentucky Law
Journal. John has maintained a civil trial practice throughout his career. In 1999,
John was one of the founding partners of Phillips Parker Orberson & Moore,
P.L.C. He was formerly a partner with the Louisville firm of Boehl Stopher &
Graves where he worked for 18 years. John’s practice is concentrated on the
defense of professionals, primarily doctors and lawyers, although he also handles
a wide range of other types of cases, including products liability, trucking, and
other high exposure personal injury litigation. He is an AV rated attorney and has
been included yearly in The Best Lawyers in America since 1999. John is a Fellow
of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a Fellow of the International
Academy of Trial Lawyers. John’s greatest satisfaction comes from the pursuit of
excellence in trial practice and the mentoring of young lawyers. John has tried
over 50 cases to verdict.
12SUSAN D. PHILLIPS
Susan D. Phillips graduated from the University of Kentucky (with High
Distinction) in 1978 and the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1981 where
she served as Secretary/Treasurer of the Moot Court Board and was a member of
the Kentucky Law Journal. Following graduation from law school. Ms. Phillips
joined the law firm of Boehl Stopher & Graves in Louisville, Kentucky, where she
practiced insurance defense litigation, primarily medical malpractice defense,
from 1981 to 1999. In 1999, she and four other partners founded the law firm of
Phillips Parker Orberson & Arnett, PLC where she continued to specialize in the
field of medical malpractice defense. Ms. Phillips has successfully tried over 50
jury trials and was honored to be the first woman in Kentucky inducted as a
Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Ms. Phillips is listed in The Best
Lawyers in American, Kentucky Super Lawyers and Kentucky Super Lawyers
Top 25 Women. She is past President of the Louisville Bar Association, the
Louisville Bar Foundation and Citizens for Better Judges. Ms. Phillips also serves
as a Kentucky Bar Association Trial Commissioner, is Secretary/Treasurer of the
Louis D. Brandeis American Inn of Court and is a member of the Evidence Rules
Review Commission, as well as numerous other Bar and Community Boards and
Associations.
RICHARD M. STRASSBERG
Rich Strassberg, head of Goodwin Procter's White Collar Defense and
Investigations practice, specializes in white collar criminal defense, SEC enforce-
ment proceedings, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) compliance and
investigations, corporate internal investigations, and complex business and
financial litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Strassberg was the Chief of the
Major Crimes Unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New
York, responsible for supervising approximately 25 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in
the prosecution of white collar criminal cases. Mr. Strassberg is a Fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in
America. He has twice been recognized by The American Lawyer as “Litigator of
the Week” as a result of his securing extraordinary victories in some of the most
closely followed white collar cases in the country, including the first ever insider
trading case involving credit derivatives, the criminal accounting fraud case
involving Bristol-Myers Squibb, and the KPMG criminal tax shelter case. Mr.
Strassberg served as trial counsel in connection the successful defense of the first
FIRREA case to be brought to trial against a financial institution, represented a
technology company involved in one of the first bit-coin related DOJ actions and
regularly represents the top executive officers of the most sophisticated compa-
nies in defending against government investigations. Chambers USA has consis-
tently ranked Mr. Strassberg in Band One, among the top New York-based white
collar defense lawyers, and he was named to the 2018 Super Lawyers list of the
Top 10 New York Metro white collar lawyers. Mr. Strassberg is active with pro
bono work and is also a thought leader in his field, co-authoring a recurring chap-
ter on privilege in a treatise on international investigations and a quarterly col-
umn on government enforcement in the New York Law Journal.
13HON. KAREN S. TOWNSEND
Elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2016 as a Judge for the 4th Judicial District, State
of Montana, serving Missoula and Mineral Counties. The District Court is a court
of general jurisdiction having responsibility for felony criminal matters, juvenile
delinquency matters, Dependent and Neglected Children matters, sanity pro-
ceedings, guardianships, probate actions, civil matters worth more than
$7,500.00, divorce and custody matters, and trial de novo for misdemeanor crim-
inal cases from the Justice Courts. Judge Townsend’s previous service includes:
Deputy County Attorney, Missoula County Attorney’s Office; Chief Staff
Attorney, County Prosecutor’s Services Bureau, Montana Dept. of Justice; Senior
Deputy County Attorney, Missoula County Attorney’s Office; Dir. of Training,
National College of District Attorneys; Senior Deputy County Attorney, Missoula
County Attorney’s Office; Chief Deputy County Attorney Missoula County
Attorney’s Office; Special Assistant United States Attorney,. Judge Townsend has
extensive local, state and national trial advocacy teaching experience. She was a
Member and later Chair of Montana Human Rights Commission, 1977-1981.
Following retirement from the Missoula County Attorney’s Office in 2006, she
served as special deputy county attorney for Beaverhead, Sanders and Glacier
Counties on criminal prosecution matters and has been retained as an expert wit-
ness by civil attorneys. Judge Townsend graduated from Ohio Wesleyan
University and received her J.D. with honors at the University of Montana School
of Law. Judge Townsend was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of
Trial Lawyers in 2000. In 2017, Judge Townsend was awarded the Karla M Gray
Equal Justice Award that is awarded each year to a Montana Judge who has
improved access for all individuals to the Montana Court system and for provid-
ing leadership in improving equal access to justice contemplated by the Montana
Code of Judicial Conduct.
LAURA E. UDALL
Laura Udall is a criminal defense attorney in private practice in her home town
pf Tucson Arizona. She attended the University of California at Berkeley for her
undergraduate degree and received her law degree from the University of Utah.
Following law school she clerked for the Honorable Alfredo Marquez for District
Court in Arizona. She then went to work at the Pima County Public Defender for
4 years. In 1992 she and her law partner opened their own firm, Cooper and Udall
PC, and they have practiced together to the present. Udall has tried over 110 cases
to jury verdict. She is qualified as learned counsel for capital work in both federal
and state jurisdictions. Udall has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of
Arizona teaching trial advocacy since 2010. She was inducted into the American
College in 2017.
14JASON ROGERS WILLIAMS
Born in uptown New Orleans, Jason Rogers Williams graduated from Woodward
Academy in Atlanta, GA and entered Tulane University and Tulane Law School.
After working for two years at law firms post-graduation, he started his own
practice. Williams was later appointed to serve as a State Court Judge at Orleans
Parish Criminal District Court by the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2003. Williams
also worked to exonerate and free the wrongfully convicted through his pro-bono
work with the Innocence Project. In addition, Williams also served on the
Louisiana State Indigent Board's Director Selection Committee and has also
worked as a Professor at Tulane Law School. He has made several guest appear-
ances as a legal analyst on local media outlets. He has served on the Board of
Directors of Innocence Project New Orleans, the Board of Directors of the
Partnership for Youth Development, the Board of Directors for Advocates for Arts
Based Education, the Board of Directors of the Audubon Nature Institute, the
Mayor's Criminal Justice Council, the Federal Public Defenders Conflict Panel,
and the Orleans Parish Public Defenders Conflict Panel. He has been lead counsel
at Jason Rogers Williams & Associates for the past 18 years. He was elected to the
New Orleans City Council as Councilmember At Large in March of 2014 and is
currently serving as President of the New Orleans City Council.
R. GARY WINTERS
Mr. Winters practices with McCaslin, Imbus & McCaslin, LPA in Cincinnati, Ohio,
where he served as President and Managing Shareholder for twenty years. His
practice is currently concentrated in the fields of school law, employment law,
and civil rights. Over the course of his career, he has represented clients in
asbestos, breast implant, pedicle screw, DES, Dalkon Shield and other pharma-
ceutical litigation, as well as in professional liability, ERISA, employment discrim-
ination, governmental liability and special education cases. He is a graduate of
the University of Cincinnati, where he obtained his B.A. in 1970, M.A. in 1972 and
J.D. in 1976. Mr. Winters was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1976 and to the
Kentucky Bar in 1995. Mr. Winters served as law clerk to the Honorable Carl B.
Rubin of the United States District Court for the Southern District Ohio. His writ-
ings include “Many Questions-Few Answers: Some Thoughts on the Meaning
and Reach of Kerans v. Porter Paint Company”, Ohio Northern University Law
Review, 1993 and “Congressional and Judicial Limits on Punitive Damages”, For
The Defense, July, 2003. Mr. Winters is a member of the Ohio Council of School
Board Attorneys and the Cincinnati, Ohio and Kentucky Bar Associations. He is
also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Member of the
American Board of Trial Advocates, and is listed among Ohio’s “Super Lawyers”.
Mr. Winters has served on the Board of Trustees of the Wyoming Youth Services
Bureau and on the City of Wyoming Recreation Commission. He was the
President of the Wyoming City School District Board of Education from 2003 to
2006.
15RICHARD M. ZIELINSKI
Richard M. Zielinski is a Director at Goulston & Storrs, P.C. in Boston,
Massachusetts. He is an honors graduate of Colgate University and Harvard Law
School. Mr. Zielinski is a general trial lawyer who concentrates on complex, “bet
the company” business litigation, legal-malpractice defense, real-estate disputes
and mass torts cases. Mr. Zielinski is listed in Chambers, USA as one of America's
Leading Business Lawyers, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in three sep-
arate categories and, in 2015 was named Massachusetts' Legal Malpractice
Defense “Lawyer of the Year.” He has also has been voted by his peers as one of
the “Top 10 Superlawyers” in Massachusetts and “Top 100 Superlawyers” in New
England. He is a past member of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers and
the Boston Bar Association Council, a Fellow and past State Chair of the American
College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and a Trustee of Massachusetts Continuing
Legal Education (MCLE). Mr. Zielinski regularly teaches at trial advocacy work-
shops and other continuing legal education courses sponsored by the ACTL,
Harvard Law School, the ABA and MCLE.
HON. JACK ZOUHARY
Hon. Jack Zouhary graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College (’73) and
received his law degree from the University of Toledo (’76) where he was an
Associate Editor of the Law Review. He was in private practice with RCO Law
until January 2000 when he became Senior Vice President and General Counsel
for S. E. Johnson Companies. He was appointed by the Ohio Governor to the
Court of Common Pleas in March 2005, and then nominated by the President to
the federal District Court in December 2005, with unanimous Senate confirmation
in March 2006. He has served as a visiting district court judge in Alabama,
Arizona, California, Connecticut, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas, and sits by
designation on the Sixth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals. Judge Zouhary
was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) in
1995, and is a past Chair of its Judiciary Committee. He also served on the
Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) and ACTL
Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice. He is a Master and past President of
the Morrison Waite Chapter of the Inns of Court. He currently serves on the
Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial
Conference of the United States and on the IAALS Advisory Board.
16The National Trial Competition
Regional Hosts
The NTC Committee appreciates the following law schools that served as Regional
Hosts for this year’s competition. A special thank you goes to the individuals
whose names appear below for their hard work and support:
Region 1 University of Maine School of Law
(East CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) Portland, ME
Amanda Doherty
Region 2 University at Buffalo School of Law
(West CT, NY) Buffalo, NY
Jennifer Scharf
Region 3 Temple University Beasley School of Law
(NJ, PA) Philadelphia, PA
Marian G. Braccia and Mary Beth Wilson
Region 4 The American University Washington
(DC, DE, MD, North VA, WV) College of Law and The Catholic University
of America, Columbus School of Law
(Co-Hosting)
Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Lippy, Lindsey Cloud Mervis, and
Brittany Gail Thomas
Region 5 University of South Carolina School of Law
(NC, SC, Southeast VA) Columbia, SC
Brett Bayne
Region 6 Florida State University College of Law
(FL, GA, PR) Tallahassee, FL
Tor Friedman
Region 7 Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
(Northeast IN, MI, OH) Columbus, OH
Katie Berger, Elizabeth Cook, and Leah J. Sellers
Region 8 Faulkner University, Thomas Goode Jones
(AL, KY, MS, TN) School of Law
Montgomery, AL
Prof. Joe Lester
Region 9 Indiana University – Mckinney School of
(IL, West IN, East MO) Law
Indianapolis, IN
Novella L. Nedeff and Frances Lee Watson
17Region 10 Texas Young Lawyers Association
(South AR, LA, South TX) Houston, TX (Special thanks to South Texas College
of Law Houston)
Kimberly Clark, Andrew Dornburg, Brandon Draper,
Ashley Hymel, Zeke Fortenberry, and Joel T. Towner
Region 11 Texas Tech University School of Law
(North AR, KS, Central Lubbock, TX
and West MO, OK, Prof. Robert Sherwin
Northwest TX)
Region 12 University of Nebraska College of Law
(IA, MN, ND, NE, SD, WI) Lincoln, NE
Molly Brummond And Katie Pfannenstiel
Region 13 University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
(CO, ID, MT, OR, Salt Lake City, UT
UT, WA, WY) Suzanne Faddis and Rich Mckelvie
Region 14 University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
(North CA, AZ, Tucson, AZ
HI, NM, NV) Brian Chase
Region 15 American College of Trial Lawyers and Orange
(South CA) County Bar Association
Santa Ana, CA
Dennis J. Maggi
Awards
The National Trial Competition rotating Honorable Jerry R. Parker Championship
trophy, donated by the ACTL, bears the name of the national championship law
school and remains in the possession of that law school until next year’s
national competition.
The law schools for the national championship team, the finalists, the semifinalists,
and the quarterfinalists will receive silver bowls. The bowls are engraved and
remain permanently in the possession of each law school. Each member of the
national championship team will also receive silver bowls.
Each team member advancing to the national competition will receive an ACTL
Lewis F. Powell, Jr. medallion for excellence in trial advocacy and a Certificate of
Achievement.
The ACTL Kraft W. Eidman Award consists of $10,000 to the national champi-
onship law school and a plaque to each member of the team. This generous award
is endowed by Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP. The plaques will be given at a
later date.
The law firm of Beck Redden LLP presents a $5,000 award to the runner-up
law school.
The law firm of Polsinelli presents $1,500 to each semifinalist law school.
The best oral advocate is awarded the George A. Spiegelberg Award, donated by
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, L.L.P.
18Past Recipients of the Spiegelberg Award
1978 1988 1999
Loyola University of I.I.T./Chicago-Kent, Loyola Law School
Chicago School of Law College of Law Los Angeles
Linda A. Wawzenski Peter Roskam Margaret P. Stevens
1979 1989 2000
Syracuse University Samford University Notre Dame
College of Law Cumberland Law School
Eileen Cohen School of Law Stone Grissom
Jay Colling
1980 2001
Baylor University 1990 Stetson University College
School of Law Stetson University of Law
Timothy Herron College of Law Carl Mitchell
Marie L. DeMarco
1981 2002
Samford University 1991 Northwestern
Cumberland University of Texas School of Law
School of Law School of Law Christopher L. LaVigne
Jack W. Stewart Greg Reed
2003
1982 1992 St. John’s University
Syracuse University Northwestern University School of Law
College of Law School of Law Kareem R. Vessup
David Abernathy Mark Niemeyer
2004
1983 1993 Stetson University College
Washington University of Notre Dame Law School of Law
St. Louis Frank J. Kros Rena Upshaw-Frazier
School of Law
Cathy Gilbert 1994 2005
Stetson University College Loyola Law School
1984 of Law Los Angeles
Samford University David Paul Melissa Lyons
Cumberland
School of Law 1995 2006
Mark Rowe Temple University School University of Arkansas
of Law School of Law- Fayettville
1985 Lucas Reiter Sach Oliver
University of Texas
School of Law 1996 2007
Jerry Galow Loyola University-Chicago Chicago-Kent College
School of Law of Law
1986 Jeffrey A. Soble Keya Rajput
Washington University
in St. Louis 1997 2008
School of Law Northwestern University Chicago-Kent College
Mark Lynch School of Law of Law
Jennifer E. Ancel Joshua Jones
1987
California Western 1998 2009
School of Law Temple University School University of Kentucky
Bruce McDonald of Law College of Law
Kevin Toth Christopher E. Schaefer
192010 2014 2017
Stanford Law School Ohio State University Georgetown University
Rakesh Kilaru Moritz College of Law Law Center
Gus Lazares Amarto Bhattacharyya
2011
Chicago-Kent College 2015 2018
of Law Chicago-Kent College Wake Forest University
Ryan Nolte of Law School of Law
Emily Schroeder Zachary Lynn McCamey
2012
Baylor University School 2016
of Law Harvard Law School
Mark Walraven Joseph Resnek
2013
Georgetown University
Law Center
L. Lars Hulsebus
20Past National Champions
1976 1985 1994
Harvard Law School University of Texas Stetson University
Michael Feldberg School of Law College of Law
Eric Zagrans Jerry Galow Angelo M. Patacca, Jr.
Paul Heard Karen A. Williams
1977 Robert Lapin
Syracuse University 1995
College of Law 1986 Temple University
Brynley James, III Washington University of School of Law
Richard Palumbo St. Louis School of Law Robert E. Kelly
Robert Wales Harry Haytayan, Jr. Lukas Reiter
Mark Lynch
1978 1996
Baylor University 1987 Loyola University-Chicago
School of Law California Western School of Law
David C. Kent School of Law Matthew Scott Miller
Max A. Sandlin, Jr. Peter Bertling Jeffrey A. Soble
Robert W. Woody Bruce McDonald Robert D. Sweeney
1979 1988 1997
Syracuse University I.I.T./Chicago-Kent Northwestern University
College of Law College of Law School of Law
Eileen Cohen Joel Daly Jennifer E. Ancel
Mae D'Agostino Lauretta Higgins Glen G. McGorty
James Priest Peter Roskam Dana R. Poole
1980 1989 1998
Baylor University Stetson University Temple University
School of Law College of Law School of Law
Joseph Norman Johnson, Jr. Carol E. McMurry Bryan Fortay
Mark Kenneth Patterson Charles A. Samarkos Kevin Toth
1981 1990 1999
Samford University Stetson University Temple University
Cumberland School of College of Law School of Law
Law Marie L. DeMarco Michael Lovell
Charles R. Malone Jennifer S. Eden Amber Van Hauen
Jack W. Stewart Douglas T. Noah
2000
1982 1991 Notre Dame Law School
Texas Tech University University of Texas Shazzie Naseem
School of Law School of Law Ryan Redmon
Charles B. Frye Nick Pittman Tamara Walker
Murray Hensley Greg Reed
Marty Rowley Mark Walters 2001
Stetson University
1983 1992 College of Law
Washington University of Northwestern University Thea Dalkalitsis
St. Louis School of Law School of Law Carl Mitchell
Cathy Gilbert Kate Kennelly
David Mason Judith Krieg
Mark Niemeyer 2002
1984 Northwestern
Samford University 1993 School of Law
Cumberland School Notre Dame Law School Terra Leigh Brown
of Law Dominique Comacho William J. Dennison II
Ottie Akers Frank J. Kros Christopher L. LaVigne
Mark Rowe Edward Sullivan
Hill Sewell
212003 2009 2015
St. John’s University Baylor Law School Chicago-Kent College
School of Law Joel Bailey of Law
Eon R. Smith Eric Policastro Emily Schroeder
Kareem R. Vessup Nicolette Ward
2010
2004 Stetson University College 2016
University of Houston of Law Harvard Law School
Law Center Brock Johnson Amanda Mundell
Michelle Benavides Katelyn Knallt Joseph Resnek
Eddie Berbarie Trina Sams
Julie Gray 2017
2011
Northwestern University Northwestern University
2005
School of Law Pritzker School of Law
Loyola Law School
Karim Basaria Douglas Bates
Los Angeles
Andrew Crowder Garrett Fields
Melissa Lyons
Clare Diegel Stacy Kapustina
Kathryn McCann
Brian Ward
2012 2018
2006 Baylor University School Wake Forest University
Loyola Law School of Law School of Law
Los Angeles Steven Lopez Darius Ladetric Lamonte
Kimberly Greene Mark Walraven Tracea Lachelle Rice
Courtney Yoder Jonathan Bryant Salmons
2013
2007 Georgetown University
Chicago-Kent College Law Center
of Law L. Lars Hulsebus
Joshua Jones Amanda Tuminelli
Keya Rajput
2014
2008 Yale Law School
Chicago-Kent College Hank Moon
of Law John James “J.J.” Snidow
Mark Griffin Ben Wallace
Joshua Jones
22IAL COM
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Sponsored by:
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ARMY 1775
43472 03/19
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