Campbell Law advocates finish as semi-finalists in The Summit Cup

RALEIGH - Campbell Law School advocates finished as semi-finalists over the weekend at The Summit Cup held Oct. 1-3, in Golden, Colorado.

The team, who were coached by Director of Competitive Advocacy René Shekmer and alumna and newly admitted attorney Paige Klink '26, was made up of Whitney Peck '27, Hunter Walker '27, Caroline Shabet '27 and Mikenna Morrison '27.

The Summit Cup is an invitation only competition for schools that won at least one of the 12 major national tournaments last year.

"Our AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition national win last year put us in the Summit Cup against 11 other national tournament winners," Shekmer explained. "Our team finished the Summit Cup as semi-finalist along with Stetson as the other semi-finalist. UCLA finished as finalists and Texas finished as the Summit Champions.

"Our AAJ STAC winners, Caroline Shabet and Mikenna Morrison, and our Estrella winners, Whitney Peck and Hunter Walker, proved once again that they are among the best of the best in the nation. They fought every round like everything depended on their best performance and it paid off. Our Summit Cup team is bringing home the hardware."

The Summit Cup, which is hosted by the University of Denver Sturm College of Law each September, honors a dozen teams from law schools around the country that each won significant tournaments in the prior academic year. Juries are composed of laypersons (non-lawyers) just like the people to whom the advocates will be presenting real cases after they graduate. DU Law students serve as the "woodshed witnesses," further enhancing the camaraderie and objectivity of the tournament.

Also over the weekend, a group of trial team first-time advocates participated in the Stetson National Pretrial Competition held Oct. 1-4 in Gulfport, Florida. Skylar Anderson '28, Elle Lanier '28, Abby Vaught '28 and Emma Teachey '28 were proudly coached by alumnae Megan Pope '25 and Kara Goray '22.

"Our Stetson NPTC team put up a good fight but, unfortunately, missed the break," Shekmer explained. "It was a valiant effort by these four first-time competitors."

The Stetson National Pretrial Competition is a national student advocacy event where law school teams simulate a complex pretrial hearing, testing their legal research, writing, and oral advocacy skills in a realistic, high-stakes setting.

Hosted by Stetson University College of Law, NPTC presents a fictional case each year. The 2026 scenario was set in the Silver Palms Resort, where a hotel accountant uncovers a criminal organization tied to the resort's co owners. After gathering evidence, the accountant is murdered. Teams had to defend or prosecute in a homicide and conspiracy case, focusing on pretrial hearings to address constitutional, evidentiary and procedural issues.

In addition to Campbell, teams from the following schools competed: Baylor University School of Law, Chapman University, Fowler School of Law, Lewis & Clark School of Law, Louisiana State University Paul M. Herbert Law Center, Mississippi Christian University School of Law (formerly Mississippi College School of Law), Regent University School of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law, Tulane School of Law, University at Buffalo School of Law, University of Florida School of Law, University of Houston Law Center, University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law, University of Miami School of Law, University of Richmond School of Law and University of San Francisco School of Law.

ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL

Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law School has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation's top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation's best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law is celebrating 50 years of educating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina's Capital City.

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