Published on February 18, 2015 by Jimmy Lichtenwalter  
trial competition winners 2015

The two student teams from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law have achieved success in a recent trial competition.  

The third-year team of Paige Duncan, Max Smith, Spenser Templeton and Matt Woodham won the recent southeastern regional trial competition in Orlando, Florida. They were ranked first in preliminary rounds of the competition and had wins over Florida A&M University College of Law, Stetson University College of Law, Faulkner University Jones School of Law and Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law. 

Woodham was awarded best closing argument for his prosecution case, receiving three perfect scores. One judge remarked that it was the first time she had ever given a perfect score. 

The team will compete in the national finals March 11 in Houston, Texas. 

The second team, which includes second-year students Stewart Alvis, Hope Beaton, Collin Hatcher, Amanda Herren and Priyanka Patel, reached the semifinals of the regional competition, defeating teams from University of Florida Levin School of Law and St. Thomas University School of Law. 

The two Cumberland teams are coached by Judge Jim Roberts ’94 and Ross Massey ’11. 

“All of our students demonstrated the ethics and professionalism we strive to teach our students,” said Roberts. “It has been my privilege to coach every one of them.” 

Jimmy Lichtenwalter is a journalism and mass communication major and a news and feature writer in the Office of Marketing and Communication.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.