The law school hosted the National Board of Trial Advocacy’s Tournament of Champions Oct. 26-28 at the Thomas R. Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Wake Forest University School of Law won, defeating University of Akron School of Law in the final round.

Berkeley Law and Loyola Law School – Los Angeles had advanced to the semi-final round in the competition, to which 16 law schools were invited, based on their three-year performance records at the Texas Young Lawyers National Trial Competition, American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy Competition and the Tournament of Champions. 

As the reigning champions of the prestigious competition for two consecutive years and as the 2018 hosts, the Kline School of Law chose not to participate in the competition. In 2017, the Kline team became the first to win back-to-back victories in the tournament since the 1990s.

Judge Mitchell Goldberg of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania presided over the final round.

“We were thrilled to be able to host a premier competition between such excellent advocates in our breathtaking institute,” said Professor Gwen Roseman Stern, who directs the Trial Advocacy program.

Trial lawyer Tom Kline, who gifted the historic building to Drexel, joined Stern in welcoming the competitors to the tournament.

The tournament was the third competition to unfold in the Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy in 2018. In June, the law school held the inaugural Trial by Combat, the first one-on-one mock trial competition for collegiate-level advocates. In early October, the school launched Battle of the Experts, the first mock trial competition that focuses on expert witnesses.