Northwestern Law Team Wins ABA Regional Competition

The Northwestern University Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy team, which included Andrew Cockroft (3L), Ashley Kirkwood (2L), Tom Severson (3L) and Anne Yonover (3L), did not lose a single round in the tournament, defeating teams from Baylor Law School, Chicago-Kent College of Law, John Marshall Law School and the University of Missouri School of Law.

The team will now compete in the national tournament in New Orleans in January.

The other Northwestern Law team in the competition, which included Mary Kim (3L), Matthew Schlager (2L), RJ Shea (2L) and Richard Widmann (3L), also reached the final four by defeating teams from Indiana University and Washington University School of Law before losing by a single point in the semi-finals.

The teams were coached by Rob Robertson, with assistance from alumni Kendrick Washington JD ’10, Mark Duric JD ’12, Tim Hoppe JD ’12, Andrew Gilbert JD ’13, Lauren Caisman JD ’13, Jorge Gamboa and Mark Eberhard JD ’14. 

“We can all be proud of our competitors, and we should be especially proud and grateful for the leadership of Rob Robertson, who has motivated such great trial work while bringing so many former students back to help our teams,” said Steven Lubet, the Williams Memorial Professor of Law and director of the Bartlit Center for Trial Strategy at Northwestern. “Rob’s approach to teaching is inspirational.”

Robertson said the students are trying the case, not performing theater.

“The students are using their material, not the coaches,” Roberston said. “We will offer ideas and guidelines, but the product is all theirs.” 

Lubet said this is the philosophy that the Bartlit Center brings to all of its programs, win or lose.

“Rob deserves our profound thanks for everything he has contributed to our educational success,” Lubet said.