The Byrne Trial Advocacy Program

The Byrne Trial Advocacy Program (named in honor of the late Honorable William M. Byrne, Sr., a 1929 alumnus of the law school), provides talented second, third and fourth year law students with the rare opportunity to receive extensive, individualized training in all aspects of trial advocacy.

Each year students are invited to join the team based upon an intramural competition held early in the fall semester. Those students then represent the school in a series of regional and national mock trial competitions. In recent years, this has included the prestigious Tournament of Champions, sponsored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy--a tournament in which the top sixteen ranked trial teams in the nation are invited to compete.

In addition, Loyola now competes in the American Trial Lawyers Association Student Trial Competition and the National Trial Competition, sponsored by the Texas Young Lawyers Association.  Over 150 ABA accredited law schools competed at the regional level, with 28 teams advancing to the finals in Dallas.  In 2006, for only the second time ever, Loyola swept the region and sent two teams to nationals.  The team of Brian Ward (national champion, 2005) and Kimberly Higgins placed third in the competition while the team of Courtney Yoder and Kimberly Greene defeated the University of Maryland in the final round to win the compeition. This was the second year in a row that Loyola has won this prestigious national tournament. 

The team also competes in The National Civil Trial Competition sponsored by Loyola Law School and the law firm of Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP against some of the top ranked teams from around the country.  In 2005 Loyola made it to the final round, competing against St. John's University School of Law, and advanced to the semi-finals in 2005 and 2006.

Loyola’s teams have been extremely successful in these tournaments, winning 16 out of the last 19 regional tournaments and six national championships in the last six years. US News & World Report has ranked Loyola’s trial advocacy program as the eighth best program in the nation, and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy ranked Loyola 1st in 2006 and 2nd in 2007.

Team members are trained to conduct all aspects of a jury trial including opening statement, direct and cross examination, as well as closing argument. The tournaments involve both civil and criminal trials ranging from issues of medical malpractice, to white collar crime and homicide. All team members receive three units of academic credit in the spring semester for their participation on the team that year.