News & Events » National Trial Team

National Trial Teams participate in national competition in Texas

Rachel Dobson — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:53:40 +0000

The Wake Forest Law National Trial Team prevailed at regionals earlier this semester and earned another trip to the nationals, held this year in Austin, Texas.

The squad Captain Matt McClellan (’12), along with teammates Andi Dorfman (’12) and Morgan MacCall (’13) competed against the other regional champions during the weekend of March 23-25. The format of the competition requires all 28 teams to try the case in three opening rounds after which the field is cut to eight teams.

The Wake Forest team defeated Creighton University in Round 1, sweeping all three judges, and took two of three judges against University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Round 3. Yale University defeated tthe Wake Forest team in a close match on points in Round 2 and took all three judges. As a result, the team did not advance to quarter-finals.

Coach Stephanie Reese (’96) and Mark Boynton (’97) said they are extremely proud of this group. The competing members were tireless in their preparation and effort and they received tremendous support. Sarah Hayward (’12), Leslie Cockrell (’12), Brad Knott (’12), John Forneris (’13) and Kevin Harrison (’13) demonstrated extreme loyalty and dedication trying the case repeatedly against Matt, Morgan and Andi including devoting much of Spring Break to the efforts.

Comerford & Britt National Trial Team moves on to National Trial Competition

Will Johnston — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:38:23 +0000

The Comerford & Britt National Trial Team of Andi Dorfman (’12), Morgan McCall (’13) and Matthew McClellan (’12) will move on to the final round of the National Trial Competition after winning the regional round held in Memphis, Tenn., over the weekend of Feb. 18-19, 2012.

The University of Memphis’ Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law hosted law schools from across the region in the 37th National Trial Competition, pitting future law professionals against each other in mock trials. Participating in the competition, which was established by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers, were 32 teams from Duke University, the University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee, along with more than two dozen other schools.

Wake Forest entered two team of three competitors in the regional round as Brad Knott (’12), Leslie Cockrell (’12) and Sarah Hayward (’12) also competed. Dorfman, McCall and McClellan will attend the national competition in Austin, Texas, on March 21.

Mark Boynton (’97) is the assistant coach and Stephanie Reese (’96) is the head coach.

“Our squad comprised of Captain Matt McClellan, Andi Dorfman and Morgan McCall swept all judges in all rounds and defeated the home team of University of Memphis in their final trial,” Boynton said. “Our second squad comprised of Captain Sarah Hayward, Leslie Cockrell and Brad Knott missed the cut by half a point! They lost only one judge in their first three rounds. Unfortunately, the host did not have enough judges on day two resulting in some two-judge rounds. The two scores had to be averaged which gave rise to the half point deficit. John Forneris (’13), Kevin Harrison (’13) and Shay Miller (’13) supported the team as alternates and, we expect, will lead the team next year.”

Boynton continued: ”Stephanie and I are very proud of this outstanding group of students who have dedicated hundreds of hours to this effort. Once again, they have represented our law school and our community with superior talent, skill and professionalism.

“We are deeply grateful to the law school and particularly to the deans for the continued support of this program. We especially want thank the firm of Comerford & Britt, LLP, who have generously supported our programs and this team in particular.”

Student Profile: Matthew D. McClellan (’12)

Lisa Snedeker — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:13:49 +0000

Matthew D. McClellan (’12) is the Student Bar Association president and was a member of the winning Comerford & Britt National Trial Team. He is a contributor to the law school’s Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law blog and served as the Zeliff Competition Co-Chair during his second year of law school.

Q&A with Matthew D. McClellan (’12)

Hometown: Fork, South Carolina

Undergraduate school and major: College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C. Media Studies Communication.

Why I chose Wake Forest School of Law: My experience with the admissions office and Melanie Nutt was refreshing and eased my fear of the “cutthroat” law school experience I was expecting. And then coming to the House Hunt and meeting some of my soon-to-be peers sealed the deal. Seeing that I would have the opportunity to be around great people with diverse backgrounds at an institution that is genuinely committed to student success, Wake Forest was the perfect fit for me.

Leadership positions I’ve held:
Student Bar Association, 2L Class Representative, President, and Sports and Entertainment Law Society Executive Board

Clinics or pro bono work I have been involved in: Litigation Clinic, Fall 2011

1L Summer Experience: ABA JIOP Clerkship, The Hon. Sandra Bean, Superior Court of California

2L Summer Experience: Guilford County District Attorney’s Office

Memorable moment from law school: After winning the 1L Trial Bar competition, some of my classmates nicknamed me “Butter” based on judge’s comments from the semi-final and final rounds that I had a “soothing and buttery voice” and a “smooth and silky” style. The following week in Professor Taha’s Civil Procedure class, in calling on someone to discuss a case, he said, “I need someone with a smooth and silky voice to do this next case.” Everyone in class started laughing!

What I plan to do after graduation: I just submitted applications last week to graduate journalism programs. I’m still interested in criminal prosecution and IP practice, but just throwing media law in the mix, with legal analyst ambitions.