School of Law’s trial team wins prestigious National Institute of Trial Advocacy 2013 Tournament of Champions

Team finishes in top half of National Civil Trial Competition in Los Angeles

The Washington University in St. Louis School of Law’s trial competition team placed first at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy 2013 Tournament of Champions, held in Birmingham, Ala.

Members of the team were Katherine Coleman, Pallavi Garg, Stanley Thompson and Cort VanOstran; coaches were WUSTL law alumni St. Louis Circuit Judge David C. Mason and attorney Mark Rudder.

The tournament is between the top 16 law school trial advocacy programs, based on their three-year record in the two major national open trial competitions, and was held over six trials Oct. 30-Nov. 3.

Birmingham was also the setting for the case tried by the students. The competition case was based on the 1962 bombings of African-American churches in Birmingham by the Ku Klux Klan. The case involved the prosecution of one of the bombers of the “15th Street” Baptist Church. Some of the actual evidence, including photos and audiotape, was used in the trials. The students alternated between prosecution and defense, ultimately winning on the defense in the championship round.

John C. Robbins, lead defense counsel in the actual case, who served as one of the competition judges, said Thompson “gave a better closing for the defendant” than he did in the actual trial.

The WUSTL trial competition team then advanced to the National Civil Trial Competition in Los Angeles, where third-year law students Elad Gross, James Miao, Emily Ottenson and Erika Wurst competed. This competition was between the top 16 law school trial teams based on a five-year history. The team finished in the top half of the competition. Judge Mason also coached this team.