Center for Advocacy
A Premier Skills Center for Christian Legal Thought & Action
The Center for Advocacy equips the next generation of legal advocates with exceptional training in legal research and writing, negotiation, trial and appellate advocacy.
Whether through the Civil Litigation Clinic where students manage real client cases from inception to conclusion, or through nationally recognized Advocacy Skills Boards, varied practicums, and comprehensive externship opportunities, the Center for Advocacy develops the fundamental legal skills students need to fulfill their legal callings with excellence.
Legal Analysis, Research & Writing Curriculum
Regent believes that mastering fundamental legal, research, and writing skills (LARW) is a must for the making of a successful attorney.
The results of our LARW program? Employers tell us our graduates have writing and researching skills that are second to none.
Additionally, students have recently won Best Brief awards in each of the following competitions:
- 2011 Billings, Exum, and Frye National Moot Court Competition
- 2009 and 2008 ABA National Pre-Trial Advocacy Competitions
- 2008 William B. Spong Jr. Invitational Moot Court Tournament
- 2008 ABA National Appellate Advocacy Regional Competition
As shown below in the information about our Advocacy Skills Boards, Regent students perform impressively well in virtually all skills arenas, documenting good mastery of the basic analytical skills that are the focus of our LARW program.
Child Advocacy Program
As a curricular and practical arm of the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law, this practicum provides students with opportunities to learn hands-on under the supervision of Professor Lynne Marie Kohm.
This practicum affords students experience in the public sector through policy research, practical writing experience, oral skills, and the opportunity make a difference for children in need.
Advocacy Skills Boards
Alternative Dispute Resolution, Moot Court, Trial Advocacy
Regent’s competition teams have won over 60 regional and national championships, best brief, and best oralist awards.
Regional and national competitions allow students to simulate stages of the legal process such as client interviewing, settlement negotiation, appellate brief writing and oral arguments.
Our most recent skills boards championships include:
- 2012 National Moot Court Competition (NMCC) Regional Championship
- 2012 ABA Regional Negotation Competition Championship
Students who participate in skills boards boost their research and strategizing skills, network with local attorneys and judges, and enhance their career prospects.
Externships
Regent’s strong regional and national partnerships enable students to extern for course credit in a wide variety of legal settings.
Externs may, for example, assist an indigent client while attending agency hearings, examine developments in piracy laws with NATO, assist a judge with a bench memorandum, or even try a case under the third year practice certificate.
In every setting, externs gain exposure to the moral, professional, procedural, and financial facets of being a lawyer.
ACLJ
Regent law students have the unique opportunity to observe and participate in one of our country's foremost public interest law firms, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
Students externing with the ACLJ have been privileged to research and help prepare briefs for a landmark First Amendment Suprme Court case.
Read more about Regent's unique relationship with the ACLJ here.
Civil Litigation Clinic
The Civil Litigation Clinic serves clients whose household income is at or below the federal poverty line, handling landlord/tenant, consumer, selected domestic relations, and administrative matters. Under the immediate supervision of an experienced attorney, students have direct responsibility for handling cases from initial interviews to conclusion of representation. The clinic handles approximately 20-30 cases per semester.
Working with a client who is unable to read, navigating complex court procedures and filing a restraining order are not topics covered by the law books. The clinical experience gives students confidence and a sense of accomplishment, eliminating the gap between the classroom and the courtroom.
Immigration Law Practicum
The practica provides law students with practical legal experience and gives them an opportunity to use their legal training to help others, under the supervision of attorney and adjunct faculty member Hugo Valverde.
Through real immigration cases, students learn case management, client interaction, immigration law and procedure, all while assisting victims of domestic violence, crime, or asylum seekers.
Singer Civil Litigation Practicum
Civil litigation is high risk, high reward.
Each semester experienced trial lawyer and Attorney-in-Residence Randy Singer selects students to assist in his civil litigation practice, giving them hands-on experience in a competitive area of law.
From client interviewing to preparing evidence, the Singer Civil Litigation Practicum gives students a chance to learn from Prof. Singer’s successes and in turn create their own.
National Right to Work Practicum
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) is a nonprofit organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by the abuses of compulsory unionism.
A cooperative effort between the law school and the NRTW, the NRTW Practicum allows students to work under the supervision of Professor Bruce Cameron, an NRTW litigator and Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law at Regent. Students digest depositions, research complex policies, and provide vital input on cases impacting the nation’s labor laws.
Third-year Practice Opportunities
A third year practice certificate allows students to appear in court and before administrative tribunals in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
With the certificate, students are able to better capitalize on their internships, externships, and part-time legal jobs.
