School of Law places in top 10 in ABA Competitions Championship for third consecutive year

Liberty University School of Law landed in the top 10 in the 2019-20 American Bar Association (ABA) Competitions Championship, an annual listing of the law schools with the highest point totals during the competition season.

This is the third year the ABA has tracked and tallied points earned for a school’s participation and placement in the Law Student Division’s four practical skills competitions: moot court, negotiations, arbitration/mediation, and client counseling. Overall, 1,300 students from 180 law schools participated in ABA competitions.

Professor Scott Thompson said the ABA looks at the composite results and it is not necessary for schools to participate or win in all four events. For the 2019-20 academic year, Liberty Law teams competed in the moot court, negotiations and arbitration competitions, earning enough points to land in a tie for ninth place on the final list.

“In order to be listed in the top 10 law schools in the country, you have to have a very broad approach that embraces at least multiple, if not all, of these skill competitions,” said Thompson. “This recognition shows the breadth of our school’s program and our ability to compete on a national level.”

According to the ABA, placing in the top 10 illustrates a school’s “commitment to providing a well-rounded curriculum and preparing students to become highly skilled lawyers.”

This year’s moot court team finished as a regional champion (the national competition was canceled due to COVID-19), the negotiations team finished as a regional co-champion, and the arbitration team was also the regional champion.

Thompson said the recognition by the ABA is a reflection of the emphasis that Liberty Law places on preparing law students beyond passing the bar exam.

“Our emphasis on teaching students the skills they need to succeed is what makes our graduates attractive,” he said. “I think being on the list also helps drive employment because employers are interested in law students who are graduating and know how to actually practice law.”

Kristine H. Smith, director of employer and student services and an adjunct faculty member at Liberty Law, believes the ranking helps with recruiting future students.

“Awards of this type, along with our high bar passage rates for the Classes of 2018 and 2019, increase the awareness of our wonderful curriculum and highlight the success of our young law school,” she said. “That Liberty Law placed in the top 10 on the ABA list helps our students compete for the positions sought by the many law school graduates each year, and it helps employers feel certain that our graduates can provide immediate value to their firms and organizations.”

The hiring rate for 2019 Liberty Law graduates exceeded 94 percent.

Liberty Law tied with Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law for ninth place after placing third and fourth places in the past two years. Texas Tech University School of Law was named the 2019-2020 ABA Competitions Champion for the second consecutive year.