The end of February marked a standout weekend for Texas Tech Law advocacy, with two regional championships won over the weekend of February 21st.
At the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Boston,
3Ls Lauren Berry and Hailey Kuykendall and 2L Sarah Blakemore Stuart claimed the Law
School’s seventh consecutive regional championship at the event. The team will advance
to Chicago in April to compete for the national title.
A second Texas Tech Law team—3L Mabry Payne, 2L Kameron Schultz, and 3L Clarissa Valenciano—also
advanced to the regional championship round, narrowly missing the title. In an extraordinary
showing, all four Tech Law oralists placed in the tournament’s top ten out of approximately
75 advocates, marking the first time in program history that every Tech competitor
finished in the top tier.
Meanwhile, in Topeka, 3Ls Rachel Behnke and Ryder Needham captured Tech Law’s second consecutive regional championship at the TYLA National Trial Competition. They will compete for the national title in Dallas this April. Another Tech Law team—2L Patrick Chippendale, 3L Brendan Gilbreath, and 2L Lettie Morris—also advanced to the final round, making it the first time both Tech Law teams reached the regional finals.
Under the leadership of Rob Sherwin '01, Champions in Advocacy Endowed Professor of
Law and Director of Advocacy Programs, the teams benefited from the support of dedicated
alumni coaches who continue a proud tradition of excellence in national competition.
Special thanks to Justice Larry Doss '99, Megan Gower '24, Barry Klein '23, Andrea
Nfodjo '18, and Kalle Riner '20 for their commitment to our students.
Wishing our teams the best of luck as they head to the nationals!