OU Law finishes 5th in skills competition

The University of Oklahoma College of Law placed fifth out of 156 law schools in a new American Bar Association ranking of schools that best prepare their students for law practice. Topping the list is Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida.

The ABA’s inaugural Competitions Championship looked at how the law schools fared in each of its four annual practical skills competitions to determine which school did the best overall.

The ABA Law Student Division hosts skills competitions in the areas of arbitration, negotiation, client counseling and appellate advocacy (moot court). Judges for the competitions included volunteer attorneys and sitting members of the bench.

Stetson advanced to the national finals in arbitration, negotiation and client counseling.

The OU team of thirdyear law students Colby Byrd, Jenny Hartsell Puckett and Hanna Roberts won the moot court competition out of 182 teams participating. They were coached by OU Law adjunct professor Michelle Johnson.

In the moot court competition, students participate in a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The competition problem this year concerned the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to police interactions with residents of a group home.

The new championship is a way to recognize law schools that go above and beyond to help prepare their students for practice, according to the ABA.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” OU Law Dean Joseph Harroz Jr. said Tuesday. “I’m so impressed with the students

and the faculty.”

Harroz said students devote extensive time outside the classroom to build the competition skills, which will serve them throughout their professional careers.

“Our students aren’t scared to work hard,” he said.

The focus is on educating students in a way that prepares them to be great

lawyers but also great citizens, he said.

“What I’m most proud of is not the awards, but how these students work to help others,” Harroz said, noting OU Law students volunteered more than 23,000 hours of pro bono work last year.

“The point is to create great leaders that understand their obligation to help others,” he said.