This past weekend, Chapman competed at the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge against 43 other schools from around the country. Our team of Damon Pitt (3L), Brett Swenson (3L), Paul Deese (2L), and Jonathan Cayton (2L) swept their first three rounds against Catholic, Suffolk, and Valparaiso to make the round of 16. Brett was recognized for his professionalism when he received the Williams Kherkher trophy, a trophy awarded to the law student chosen by the judges “as the most professional advocate in the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge”.

“Needless to say, I am once again extraordinarily proud of our competition teams,” said Professor Nancy Schultz who recently coached our mediation teams to success. Williams, Kherkher, Hart & Boundas, L.L.P. donated this trophy to promote the highest levels of civility, ethics and professionalism in the practice of law. All of our team’s judges nominated Brett in the rounds where he served as an advocate. Brett was the only advocate out of 176 to receive a 100% nomination from his judges.

In the octofinal round of this competition, our team lost a 3-2 decision to Campbell, which went on to make the final round. However, Chapman outperformed Georgetown, Baylor, Texas, Fordham, and Wisconsin, along with 23 other schools that did not make the cut. Ultimately, Brett coming away with the Williams Kherkher trophy was the highlight of the event.