From L to R: John Sharifi, Lindsey CLoud, Taylor Dontje, Thomas Dillon, and Beverly Diaz

Catholic Law competed in the National Trial Competition’s regional qualifier last weekend, advancing to the final round before losing by split ballot to Howard University School of Law. This year’s results continue a trend reflecting Catholic’s growing regional dominance in trial advocacy: in the past three years, Catholic has finished the regional qualifier as either a semi-finalist, finalist, or champion. Catholic won the region last year and went on to win the 2019 national championship.

The law school was represented at the competition by Taylor Dontje (3L), Thomas Dillon (2L), Beverly Diaz (1L), Colleen L’Etoile (2L), Meghan Moorhouse (2L), and Kendell Strachan (1L). L’Etoile, Moorhouse, and Strachan fought hard and performed well through the preliminary rounds, gaining valuable courtroom experience. Dontje, Dillon, and Diaz advanced to the semi-finals, beating Drexel University before falling just short in the regional final.

“These qualifiers are very tough competitions to win and advancing to the finals is an impressive academic achievement. But I am particularly proud of how valiantly our students battled to defend our regional and national titles and how much support past and current trial team members showed them,” said National Trial Team Director John N. Sharifi.

“Even more than the result, we are so proud of the professionalism, camaraderie, and dedication to excellence that our students demonstrated. We look forward to continued success,” added Associate Director Lindsey Cloud.

The trial team’s next tournament begins on March 12, when they will compete in the American Association of Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition.