Published on July 2, 2025 by Morgan Black  
Trial 2024

Cumberland School of Law consistently excels in regional and national legal skills competitions, maintaining a remarkable performance record. Renowned as one of the nation's most accomplished law schools for trial advocacy training, Cumberland School of Law students also regularly excel in other areas of advocacy, including arbitration, negotiation and moot court. The spring 2025 competition season was no exception and culminated in these results:

  • National Trial Competition Regionals, Champion 
  • National Trial Competition Nationals, Quarterfinalist and Professionalism Award
  • American Association of Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition Regionals, Champion 
  • American Association of Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition Nationals, Quarterfinalist
  • Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition, Finalist and Professionalism Award
  • American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition Regional, Champions
  • American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition Nationals, Top 8 and two Best Advocate Awards
  • American Bar Association Regional Mediation Competition, Champions
  • American Bar Association Regional Negotiation Competition, Finalists
  •  American Bar Association Regional Client Counseling Competition, Semifinalists
  • Online National Competition, Semifinalist 
  • Trials and Tribulations National Trial Competition, Quarterfinalist
  • South Texas Trial Competition, Quarterfinalist
  • Tulane Professional Football Negotiation Competition, Participant
  • Trans-Atlantic Negotiation Competition, Participant
large group of law students in the quad

Notably, Cumberland students secured five professionalism awards throughout the course of the year, and Cumberland was the only law school to advance at the four most difficult trial competitions in the country: the Tournament of Champions, Top Gun, the National Trial Competition, and the American Association of Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition.

In addition to competition success, the law school’s national rankings were updated. U.S. News & World Report ranked the trial advocacy program No. 4 in the nation, up two spots from the previous year, and the national Gavel rankings placed Cumberland No. 2, up one spot from the previous year. 

group of law students and professors in the quad

During the fall semester, Cumberland School of Law entered a new national ranking. In August, the American Bar Association Law published its ranking of the top 10 law school competition teams in arbitration, negotiation, client counseling, mediation and appellate advocacy, in which Cumberland ranked No. 8. Read highlights from summer and fall 2024.

 

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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 with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.