Trial team chosen

School invited for competition

Liberty University’s School of Law Trial Team has been invited to compete in the National Civil Trial Competition (NCTC), which is one of the top trial competitions in the country.

The NCTC selects 16 of the best trial teams from law schools across the country. The competition will be held Nov. 14-16 at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

The Trial Team consists of students who participate in mock jury trials across the country. The students were chosen by a group of judges and then invited to join the Trial Team.

Pamela Bell, associate professor of law at Liberty and director of the School of Law’s Center for Trial Advocacy, coaches the team. She said the purpose of the Trial Team is to provide the students with an intense training so they can become the best trial lawyers possible.

“They will finish a trial team program and be able to go out and try a case better than many seasoned lawyers,” Bell said.

The competition gives students the opportunity to network with real judges who will be able to see their talents being put to use, according to Bell. She said the networking chances alone are well worth the time and effort the students put into training for the competition.

Bell prepares the students for competitions by helping them understand case files. They have practices at least three days a week for several hours in order to properly prepare themselves to compete.
Bell said it is an honor for Liberty’s Trial Team to be invited to compete in the NCTC, because it is a well-respected competition.

“God has opened this door for us to be able to go and let other schools know that Liberty School of Law is a law school that needs to be recognized for what we’re doing,” Bell said. “Just because we’re a Christian school, we don’t offer anything less. We offer more, because we have the spiritual support that you won’t get anywhere else.”

Bell has been coaching trial teams since 1997. She said she looks forward to showing off Liberty’s law program to the other schools competing in the competition.

“We are doing our best to advance the mission of this law school and the mission of this university,” Bell said. “We pray in victory, and we pray in defeat. We pray before and after competitions and after each round. All my students are quick to acknowledge that whatever we do, we do in Christ’s strength and because of him.”

Hudson is a news reporter.