The School of Law hosted 14 teams from eight law schools in the American Bar Association’s regional competition accentuating advocates' client advising skills.
Elon University School of Law recently hosted the American Bar Association Client Counseling Regional Competition, welcoming 14 teams from eight law schools for a weekend focused on one of the most important skills in legal practice: advising clients.
Teams traveled from across the country, including law schools in North Carolina, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Nevada and Oregon.
The competition promotes greater knowledge and interest in the client counseling functions of law practice. Students, acting as attorneys, conduct a simulated law office consultation based on limited background information, interviewing a client and explaining how they would proceed in addressing the client’s legal issue. Judges evaluate teams on their interviewing, planning and analytical skills in building effective lawyer-client relationships.
Dozens of North Carolina attorneys — including several Elon Law alumni — volunteered as judges. Professor of Law David Levine and Vice Dean and Professor of Law Alan Woodlief coordinated the competition with Elon Law students Isabel Craige L’26, James Galipeau L’26, Elizabeth Gregory L’26, Benita Kamaladua L’26, Brayden Nuffer L’26, Megan Chen L’27, Kyla King L’27 and Kali Williams L’27.
“The Client Counseling Competition is such a unique experience,” said Galipeau, a member of Elon Law’s Moot Court Board. “Unlike moot court, the judges measure the ability of competitors to elicit facts rather than argue them. That skill is so imperative to trial practice.”
Chen, an Advocacy Fellow, said the experience underscored the profession’s emphasis on understanding clients.
“It was valuable to see how lawyers and law students from across the country care deeply about having meaningful conversations with their clients and advocating for their best interests,” Chen said.
The competition’s finalists represented the University of Oregon School of Law, University of Illinois College of Law, and Texas A&M University School of Law. At Elon Law, Cheri Beasley, the Sandra Day O’Connor professor of law, Kathy Conner, associate professor of law, and Julia Gardea, attorney at Greensboro’s A.G. Linett & Associates, served as final round judges.
“Professor Levine and I were impressed with the leadership and initiative demonstrated by the Advocacy Fellows and Moot Court Board members working with us to coordinate the competition,” said Woodlief. “The competition provided a great opportunity for these students to assist competitors, develop their client counseling skills, meet law students from around the country, and network with attorneys and judges from across the state.”
Elon Law regularly participates in ABA advocacy competitions, including the Appellate Advocacy Competition earlier this spring in Chicago.