By Andrew Christensen '08
Associate News Editor

The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School has announced that military lawyers who volunteer to train UVA Law’s National Trial Advocacy Team and Extramural Moot Court Team will now earn academic credit for their coaching efforts. Along with the appointment of UVA Law professor Toby Heytens and JAG School professor Major David Coombs as co-supervisors of the Virginia Law Extramural Advocacy Team, the recent development is seen by participants at both schools as a significant step toward increasing the size and standing of the already successful program.

“I would not hesitate to call the new arrangement historic,” said second-year Adam Gordon, one of 49 students participating in UVA Extramural Moot Court this year. “It’s pretty clear that what separates the Moot Court teams who win consistently [from the others] is coaching, and JAG attorneys are some of the most accomplished and seasoned litigators you could ever want advising you.”

For the past three years, members of UVA Law’s National Trial Advocacy Team have enjoyed the unique opportunity of honing their litigation skills under the guidance of experienced attorneys from the neighboring JAG School. The volunteer coaches, all licensed attorneys and military officers, are enrolled in the JAG school's one-year legal Graduate Course, which culminates in an LL.M. degree in Military Law. This semester, 12 JAG lawyers have committed to coaching UVA Extramural Moot Court teams – a remarkable increase from zero the year before, when only the National Trial Advocacy Team was able to work with JAG School coaches, and when the coaches were not eligible to receive credit toward their degrees.

Students on UVA Law’s Extramural Moot Court Team will compete against their counterparts from other law schools in 15 competitions across the country this academic year. Gordon, who serves as Extramural Advocacy Team Coordinator and was named best oralist at the 2006 Sutherland Cup Constitutional Moot Court Competition, sees the coaches’ role in guiding UVA Law’s student-litigators as invaluable, both in terms of preparation and education.

“They help not only moot our teams before competitions, but also instruct about the best way to approach appellate advocacy and the correct methods of evaluating and analyzing appellate problems,” Gordon said. “They spend about 30 to 40 hours with us over the last 10 days before a competition, and usually attend the competitions with the participants. Granting [academic] credit to the JAGs cements our relationship permanently, and is a big boost to recognize the efforts that these coaches make.”

Major Coombs, who was instrumental in arranging for coaches to get credit, reflected on the importance of the new, officially established program.

“The relationship had been an informal one,” Coombs said. “Its annual existence was due to the requests for help by UVA Law School students, former [JAG School] faculty donating their time to supervise the program, and members of the Graduate Course volunteering to be coaches.”

“Unlike in previous years,” Coombs continued, “we now have a faculty member from the UVA Law School as part of the program. The authorization of LL.M. credit is a big step in cementing our relationship with UVA,” he added, conveying his hopes that the two schools will continue to strengthen their ties in the future.

Gordon similarly expressed a robust, positive vision for the Extramural Advocacy Team/JAG School alliance, in light of its recent evolution.

“We believe this is a groundbreaking arrangement that will pay incredible dividends, not just in terms of our teams’ successes this year, but also in ensuring a legacy of competitive UVA teams for years to come,” Gordon predicted. “All of the best appellate teams have coaches, and this step was necessary for our advancement as an extramural program.”