YLS Teams Compete at the National Trial Competition

Two teams from Yale Law School recently competed in the National Trial Competition (NTC), a trial advocacy tournament sponsored by the American Trial of College Lawyers and the Texas Young Lawyers Association. Over 300 teams competed at various regional qualifying tournaments across the country, representing 157 of the 190 ABA accredited law schools in the nation. Only twenty-eight of those teams, including the two from YLS, advanced to the national tournament, held in Austin, Texas, from March 22-24.

This was the first time that Yale Law had sent two teams to compete for the national title and both squads performed well. Team 1 (Patrick Moroney ’12, Daniel Young ’12, and Barrett Anderson ’12) advanced to the quarterfinal round, placing in the top eight teams in the country. Team 2 (Glenn Bridgman ‘13, Andrew Hahn ‘13, and Edwina Clarke ‘13) made a strong showing in its first national tournament appearance, taking several ballots from strong opponents. The program has high expectations for Team 2’s performance next year, as all three advocates will be returning.

Patrick Moroney '12, Daniel Young '12, and Barrett Anderson '12

The YLS Trial Advocacy Program is completely student-coached and student-run. The program has seen unprecedented success over the past few years; in fact, this was the third consecutive year that YLS has sent at least one team to the NTC National Championship. Both teams received rave reviews from the members of the American College of Trial Lawyers who judged their rounds, and many expressed excitement that the YLS program is able to compete at such a high level for the third year in a row while remaining student-directed and coached.

The program’s continued success would certainly not be possible without the generous support of the law school and donations from WestLaw, LexisNexis, Themis, and the law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. The members of the Trial Advocacy Program were proud to represent Yale Law on the national stage and hope that trial advocacy at the law school will continue to be a strength and passion for students into the future.