Stetson Law -- Press Release:

April 9, 2002: St. Petersburg, Fla. - Stetson University College of Law won the American Bar Association National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition this past weekend in Chicago, Ill., taking the national championship and honors for best advocate.

This win comes one day after U.S. News and World Report again ranked Stetson first place in the nation (tied with Temple University) in trial advocacy training.

The team of Andrea Antolik, Andy Bolin, Natalia Kirayoglu and Kerry Shaw went undefeated in five rounds, and Kirayoglu was selected as Best Advocate. Professor Karen A. Williams, who was a member of Stetson's 1994 winning trial team, coached the team.

Stetson is the only law school in the country to win this competition five times. The team last held the national title in 2000.

"With this national championship, Stetson continues its long and proud tradition of training young lawyers to become professional and effective advocates," Williams said.

Stetson defeated teams from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lancing, Mich.; University of Denver, Colo.; Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, Calif.; and Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, Washington, D.C. Arguing for the prosecution, Stetson beat University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento, Calif., in the final round.

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Stetson University College of Law is Florida’s first law school. It has educated lawyers for more than 100 years, and offers continuing legal education programs for regional, state, national and international audiences. It is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top law schools in the United States for advocacy training.

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