Fort Worth Business Press - Texas Wesleyan School of Law - Texas ...

Advocacy Program
Makes Great Strides
By Jennifer Ellis ’05, director of Texas Wesleyan School
of Law Advocacy Program
Over the past decade, advocacy at Texas Wesleyan has grown into a powerful program.
We now send teams of students to about 20 competitions a year. Our advocacy program is
comprised of moot court, mock trial and dispute resolution. Moot court simulates appellate
advocacy and includes both a brief writing and an oral advocacy component. Mock trial
is traditional trial advocacy. Dispute resolution includes competitions in the areas of
mediation, negotiation, client counseling and arbitration. Our teams compete in a wide
variety of subject matter, including constitutional law, securities, labor and employment,
criminal law and administrative law.
The most prestigious of advocacy competitions involves
two separate components: one at the regional level and
an elite one at the national level. Teams must qualify for
the national finals by winning or placing highly in the regional
competition. Last year, we qualified teams for the national
finals in all three advocacy disciplines for the first time. Scott
Thompson ’12, Jill Smith ’12 and 3L Amy Herrera won the
New York regional of the prestigious ABA National Appellate
Advocacy Competition and went on to place in the top eight
at the national finals. Thompson was awarded the National
Best Advocate award and the team received the second
place National Best Brief award. The team was coached by
Jennifer Ellis ’05, director of advocacy programs. In mock
trial, Antonio Allen ’12, DeAndrea Jackson ’12, 2L Matthew
Jackson and 2L Marcus Johnson advanced as a team to the
national finals of the BLSA Thurgood Marshall Competition,
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where they placed in the top eight. The team was coached by
attorney Douglas Greene. Two teams advanced to the national
finals in dispute resolution. Ross Tew ’12 and Marissa Warms
’12 were regional champions and national semifinalists of the
ABA Client Counseling Competition. Danielle Huddleston ’11
and Johnny Lanzillo ’12 advanced to the national finals of the
ABA Negotiation Competition. The client counseling team was
coached by Professor Kay Elliott, and the negotiation team was
coached by attorney Chris Watts ’00.
Another incredible opportunity came in the summer of 2011.
Tew and Danny Ippolito’s ’12 team advanced to the national
finals of the ABA Negotiation Competition in the fall of 2010. Just
days prior to the competition, the early birth of Ippolito’s first son
prevented him from being able to compete. Subsequently, Tew
competed alone at the national finals and won the national title. As
Opposite page: The law school’s advocacy program display cases are full – almost overflowing. Due to the successes of the advocacy teams,
director Jennifer Ellis ’05 is running out of room to display the trophies, plaques and other awards that have been won over the past 10 years.
— Photo by Dan Brothers