Lee University’s Mock Trial primary competition team recently won first place at the 2018 Owl Classic Mock Trial Competition, hosted by Kennesaw State University at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. The team placed second last year at the same tournament.

Lee’s team, which is a student-coached, student-administered, and fully volunteer-driven campus club, went head-to-head with large universities, such as Georgia State, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), University of Florida, University of South Carolina, and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Despite most other teams having paid faculty coaches, Lee’s team won their judges’ ballots all throughout the day for a record of 4-0.

Additionally, Madeleine Burgess, a veteran “mocker” for the Lee team, won a “Best Witness” award for her portrayal of an animal trainer. Grace Anne Cochran, a first year Mock Trial student on Lee’s secondary competition team, won a “Best Witness” award for her portrayal of an anthropology and animal science expert. The president and vice president of Lee’s Mock Trial organization––Ben Absher and Ben Wycoff, respectively––each won “Best Attorney” awards for perfect marks on their ballots.

Sponsors for the team include Logan-Thompson, P.C.; Rachel Fisher, attorney at law; and the Law Office of Andrew B. Morgan.

Several local attorneys also provided constructive criticism in preparation for the team’s competition and include Coty Womp and Drew Robinson, assistant district attorneys; Paul Rush, assistant public defender; and Jonathan Wilson, private practice attorney.

Lee University’s Mock Trial teams will be heading to MTSU for another invitational tournament in November.

For more information on club activities, contact the leadership team at [email protected].