King Hall Teams Excel in Student Trial Advocacy Competition

Winning team from UC Davis School of LawTwo teams of UC Davis School of Law students competed in the American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition regionals in Seattle, Washington on March 7-10, turning in outstanding performances that enabled one team to advance to the semi-finals while the other earned the honor of competing in the National Competition in New Orleans in April.

One King Hall team consisted of Abenicio Cisneros '14, Andrew Collins '15, Mitchell Suliman '14, and Irene Williams '14. That team triumphed in the three preliminary rounds and advanced to the semi-finals, where they were edged by a single point.   The second team of Christian Acevedo '13, Zachary Schultz '13, Karen Soell '13, and Michael Yun '13 also bested opponents in the preliminary rounds, won in the semi-final round, then won again in the finals, clinching a bid for the National Competition.

The students' performance was particularly impressive considering the quality of the competition, which included teams from 18 laws schools, and in light of the fact that this was King Hall's first entry in the American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition.

The students wished to thank King Hall alumni Joseph Alexander '98 and Kira King Wattenburg '06 who helped select the team, Professor Miguel Méndez who donated his time to consult with the team members on evidentiary issues, Professor Edward Imwinkelried, who is Director of the Trial Advocacy program, and Daniel Boone '90, who has donated his time to coach King Hall teams for two decades.