Congratulations to Brian Ward, Melissa Lyons, and Kathryn McCann from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. These three students won first place in the National Trial Competition held in San Antonio, Texas, March 29 - April 2, 2005.

The National Trial Competition (“NTC”) was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen students’ advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar. The program is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. NTC is one of the oldest and most prestigious mock trial competitions in the country. NTC is sponsored by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers (“ACTL”).

Every ABA accredited law school in the United States is invited to compete in this annual competition. This year marked the biggest competition in NTC’s 30-year history. Over 135 ABA accredited law schools (out of 150) from across the country competed in 13 regional competitions. Only the top two teams from each region advance to Texas to compete in the National Finals.

The American College of Trial Lawyers sponsors a trip to the ACTL Annual Meeting for the Best Oral Advocate. If the Best Oral Advocate is not part of the winning team, one member of the winning team will also be invited. At this meeting, the Kraft W. Eidman Award, consisting of a $10,000 gift and a silver bowl, is presented to the winning team. This very generous contribution is endowed by Fulbright & Jaworski. The firm of Beck, Redden & Secrest will present a $5,000 award to the second place team. The Best Oral Advocate receives the George A. Spiegelberg Award, donated each year by Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. The winning team also receives a rotating Honorable Jerry R. Parker Championship trophy. The trophy remains in the possession of that school until next year’s National Finals. Lastly, silver bowls are presented to the National Champion, Finalist, Semifinalists, and Quarterfinalists.

NTC remains one of the pre-eminent mock trial competitions in the country because of the dedication of the TYLA NTC committee, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the regional host schools, the coaches, and the many judges, lawyers, and witnesses who dedicate their time to this phenomenal competition. TYLA greatly appreciated the efforts of everyone involved with the competition, especially the volunteers in San Antonio, Texas.

Finally, congratulations to the teams from South Texas College of Law and Texas Tech University School of Law. These two teams represented the Texas Region in San Antonio.