Published on November 7, 2024 by Morgan Black  
Premiere Team 2024

Members of Samford University Cumberland School of Law’s National Trial Team finished in second place at the Premiere Trial Competition held in Austin, Texas, Nov. 1-3. The Premiere mock trial competition is held exclusively for law students advocating in their first intramural law school trial competition and is judged by trial team coaches from around the country.

Cumberland was represented by second-year students including Tristan Gardner, Lauren Golston, Henry Shiels and Blake Wheeler. As a team, they excelled over teams from Texas Southern University, Louisiana State University and the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Other second-year Cumberland students who participated in the event included Mary Bishop and Kelly McAllister.

In addition to the second-place finish, the team won the competition’s Professionalism Award and Gardner received an Honorable Mention for Best Advocate. The team was coached by Rylee Davis, JD ’21, and Mason Osborn, JD ’22.

Osborn said, "From the outset, these students bought into our program here at Cumberland. We spent many late nights practicing and developing the skills necessary to be a great trial lawyer. Even more importantly, they conducted themselves with extraordinary professionalism throughout the competition. I am very proud to know each one of them and I am confident they will make great lawyers in the future."

Judge Jim Roberts, JD ’94, director of National Trial Teams said, "The Premiere is a terrific concept that allows students who have never participated in mock trials an excellent educational opportunity. Our coaches and students dedicated themselves to teaching and learning the practical aspects of practicing law. It's so exciting to see their efforts rewarded with these great results. Personally, I am so proud of the students for receiving the Professionalism Award as it indicates the value we place on not only training our students to be great lawyers but also to be respectful and ethical advocates."

Cumberland’s trial advocacy program focuses on helping student-advocates reach their individual potential by unlocking each student’s true, authentic voice and providing the skills necessary to compete at the highest levels of law school competition. The law school ranks 6th for Trial Advocacy by U.S. News & World Report (2024), 5th in the Gavel Rankings for 2023-24 (2nd overall since 2019), and 4th in the Trial Competition Performance Rankings for 2023-24 (3rd overall since 2016).

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.