Two Drake University Law School teams finished second and third in the Regional American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition held at the University of South Dakota Law School last weekend.
The competition drew a total of 12 teams representing law schools in South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Kentucky. The ABA Client Counseling Competition simulates the law office setting in the initial client interview stage. The law student competitors interview a prospective client and then provide legal advice appropriate to the client’s situation.
Drake was the only law school to have both its teams advance through the preliminary and semi-final rounds to the competition finals, which were held Saturday, Feb. 12. In that round, both Drake teams competed against a team from the University of Nebraska.
The judges awarded first place to the Nebraska team, which will represent the ABA region in the national finals. The Drake team of Brian Damman and Andrew Olson took second place and the Drake team of Katie Graham and Jeff Hicks finished third.
Damman is a third-year law student from Forest City, Iowa, and Olson is a second-year law student from Moline, Ill. Graham and Hicks are both third-year law students. Graham is from Waterloo, Iowa, and Hicks is from Indianola, Iowa.
“I was extremely proud of the performance by both Drake teams, but I was not surprised. Both teams worked very hard in practice sessions over the last few weeks, and that hard work paid off at regionals,” said Matt Dore, the adviser and coach of both teams, as well as Drake’s Richard M. and Anita Calkins distinguished professor of law.
“While I’m disappointed that Nebraska edged out our teams for a slot at the national finals,” Dore added, “I know that all four of these law students learned a lot from their competition experience and will take those skills into their law practices after graduation. That’s what these American Bar Association events are all about.”