A trial team from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law took top honors at the prestigious Tournament of Champions competition held Oct. 27-30 at St. Johns University School of Law in New York City.
Cumberland students Maurine Evans, Setara Foster, Cory Ricci and George Shifflett defeated a team from Northwestern University law school in the final round to win what is considered the nation’s premier law school trial competition. The tournament is sponsored by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and LexisNexis.
The Tournament of Champions invites only 16 teams from the nation’s top trial advocacy law schools. Invitations are based on the school’s previous performances at the National Trial Competition, the American Association for Justice’s national student trial advocacy competition, and prior appearances at the Tournament of Champions.
The Cumberland team defeated St. John’s law school in the semi-final round after winning all four preliminary rounds against Stetson, St. Johns, Duquesne and Wisconsin, during which they lost only one judge’s ballot out of 12.
During the tournament, each Cumberland team member had a role as an advocate depending on the side of the case being represented. The criminal case used in the competition involved a number of complex evidentiary issues that resulted in a variety of rulings, and essentially a different trial each round.
The Cumberland team is coached by Cumberland alumni and Birmingham attorneys Mike Rasmussen and Marc Jaskolka.