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UGA SCHOOL OF LAW STUDENTS PERFORM WELL IN COMPETITIONS

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Tuesday, November 20, 2001

WRITER: Heidi Murphy, 706/542-5172, hmurphy@uga.edu CONTACT: Kellie Casey, 706/542-2739, krcasey@uga.edu

UGA SCHOOL OF LAW STUDENTS PERFORM WELL IN COMPETITIONS

ATHENS, Ga. - A University of Georgia School of Law mock trial team advanced to the final round of the Georgetown White Collar Crime Mock Trial Competition held this past weekend in Washington, D.C. and won the Best Advocate Award.

The UGA team defeated all three preliminary round opponents as well as semi-final opponent Loyola University of Chicago. However, they lost the final round of the national championship to the Southwestern University School of Law.

UGA Advocacy Program Director Kellie Casey said her team of third-year students performed well despite their final round loss to Southwestern. "They should be proud of their final round placement in light of the tough competition."

The mock trial team for the School of Law was comprised of third-year students, Julie Hall, Todd Hayes and Michael Cates, and second-year student Addie Smith.

Cates won the Best Advocate Award for his individual performance in the three preliminary rounds.

This was UGA's second final-round placement in as many years at the prestigious Georgetown competition.

On another winning note, recently, third-year students Dylan Wilbanks and Sha-Lena Cook won first and second place honors, respectively, at a private closing argument competition held in Atlanta. The competition was sponsored by the Keenan Law Firm. This competition was open to all law students from any Georgia law school.

UGA School of Law Dean David Shipley said he was delighted with the performance of the school's students in competitions this year. "We compete on a very high level which illustrates the excellent education our students receive at the University of Georgia law school."

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