New Faculty Leadership Named to Law School Competitions Program

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Amanda Hurst and Danielle Weatherby

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Stacy Leeds, dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, has appointed Danielle Weatherby, associate professor, and Amanda Hurst, visiting professor, as co-directors of the school's competitions program. In this role, they also serve as faculty advisers to the school's Board of Advocates, a student-run organization responsible for organizing all intramural advocacy competitions at the law school.

Through the school's Board of Advocates, students organize and conduct several internal competitions throughout the year, choose the national ad-hoc competitions in which the school will compete, host regional competitions for the American Bar Association and administer tryouts to determine team members for several national competitions. 

The intra-school events provide students with opportunities to enhance their public speaking and writing skills through practical experience in mock trial, moot court, mediation, negotiation and client advocacy competitions. They also help students hone their abilities, so they may go on to compete in external contests, where they earn academic credit for competing in regional and national competitions.

Hurst and Weatherby both teach Legal Research and Writing in the first-year curriculum, which includes instruction in oral advocacy. They have coached several University of Arkansas teams to regional and national competitions in Chicago, Las Vegas, New York City, Seattleand Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining the University of Arkansas faculty, Weatherby clerked for Chief Judge Gary L. Sharpe of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York and practiced at Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna LLP, a law firm in Albany, New York, where she advised private and public sector clients on a wide range of labor, employment and education law issues. She currently serves on the Legal Writing Institute's "Faces of LWI" committee.

Hurst clerked for Judge Bobby E. Shepherd of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals before coming to the U of A to teach various courses related to the federal courts and research and writing. She has served as a special justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court and is a member of the State Board of Election Commissioners.

The University of Arkansas School of Law's two signature competitions are the William H. Sutton Barrister's Union Trial Competition and the Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition, held in the fall and spring, respectively. A third competition in either Client Advocacy or Negotiations is also held each spring. All university students, faculty, and staff, as well as the local legal community, are welcome to attend the final round of each competition.

The Sutton and Altheimer competitions each bring in 50-60 members of the legal community to serve as judges and involve around 25-35 percent of the school's student body as contestants, witnesses and timekeepers.

In their newest role, Hurst and Weatherby are charged with coaching students who compete on regional and national teams and guiding Board of Advocates members in their various tasks. They assume the post from Kathryn Sampson, who has been the school's director of competitions and capstone courses since 2013. Samson retired this summer after 25 years on the law school faculty.

To see students in action, those throughout the campus community are encouraged to attend the final rounds of each of the law school's internal competitions. Current details for the 2018-19 final rounds include:  

• William H. Sutton Barrister's Union Trial Competition, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, 4 p.m., E.J. Ball Courtroom, Waterman Hall
• Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition, Friday, March 8, 2019, 2 p.m., E.J. Ball Courtroom, Waterman Hall
• Negotiations Competition, Thursday, April 11, 2019, noon, location to be determined