Law school celebrates 10-year anniversary with special alumni events

Mat Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law, addresses alumni at a breakfast reception in the Williams Stadium Club Pavilion on Saturday, March 22.

About 80 Liberty University School of Law alumni from 16 states visited campus last weekend to celebrate the school’s 10 years of success.

Alumni were invited to a reception on Friday, March 21, and a breakfast on Saturday. Alumni who were winners of internal Moot Court competitions during their time at Liberty also participated in the judge’s panel at the 1L Moot Court competition held on Saturday afternoon in the Supreme Courtroom.

“I could not think of a better way to celebrate the law school’s 10th anniversary than to honor our alumni,” said Mat Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law. “In a short 10 years with seven graduating classes, we have alumni working in a wide variety of legal careers. Liberty Law graduates will reform the legal profession and the practice of law. The future is certainly bright for the law school.”

Alumna Melanie Good (’10) is an enforcement attorney for the Texas State Securities Board in Corpus Christi, Texas, investigating white-collar crimes.

“My law degree from Liberty not only prepared me for the bar examination in Texas, but it also helped me transition from a mock courtroom into a real courtroom,” Good said.

She said attending law school in a Christian environment taught her to have integrity as a lawyer.

Law school staff greet alumni at the breakfast reception on Saturday, March 22.

“We want to make sure as lawyers that we are ethical, and my educational background reminds me to make sure I am honoring God and Liberty on whatever case I am working,” Good said.

Alumnus Todd Kirby (’11) is a partner in the law offices of Kirby, Gilbert & Ashley, L.C. in Beckley, W.Va., and said he tries to bring a different style of law to his job.

“Most attorneys are known for being cut-throat and winning at all costs; however, I take a humanistic approach and personal approach to clients and try to put myself in their shoes,” he said.

He said Liberty Law’s lawyering skills program gives students an edge over students at other law schools.

“The intensive amount of documentation that you prepare for those classes is the best preparation someone can have for real-world practice of law,” he said.  “Learning the practical aspect of law through the lawyering skills program was a huge advantage to me.”

Liberty University School of Law alumni serve as judges for a Moot Court tournament in the school’s Supreme Courtroom on Saturday, March 22.

Liberty Law was recently ranked among the top 10 percent of law schools for experiential training. Its rigorous skills program prepares each student to conduct negotiations, depositions, arguments before a judge, and a trial. While in the program, students draft more than 15 different types of legal documents ranging from legal memos, complains, motions, summary of judgments, sales contracts, statutes, articles of organizations, and operating agreements. Students are also offered internships and externships to ready them for law practice.

Liberty Law welcomed its first class in 2004 and received full ABA accreditation in 2010. There are currently 470 Liberty Law graduates working all across the country.

Liberty Law offers 11 certificates of concentration, including business law, criminal justice, family and juvenile law, international law, constitutional law, and advocacy.