Our Interview With Kellie Casey, Director of Advocacy at the University of Georgia School of Law

Juris Education interviewed Kellie Casey, the Director of Advocacy at the University of Georgia School of Law, for an exclusive look at what sets the school's Trial Advocacy Program apart.

What makes the Trial Advocacy Program at the University of Georgia School of Law stand out from the competition?

The University of Georgia School of Law has a long history of success in both Moot Court and Mock Trial and, unlike many other schools, the school allows advocacy students to compete in both.

UGA's Moot Court program has won more than 20 competitions in the past five years and is consistently ranked in the Top 16 in the country. Our program is currently ranked 8th in the nation according to the University of Houston Law Center Blakely Advocacy Institute. Since 2020, our wins include the National Moot Court Competition in 2020, the National Online Moot Court Competition in back-to-back wins (2021 and 2022), the Southeastern Invitational National Moot Tournament in 2022, and the American region for the Jessup International Moot Court Competition in 2025. Aside from team victories, UGA’s Moot Court program boasts hundreds of individual-advocate and brief-writing awards, including best advocate at the Jessup International Moot Court international rounds and multiple best advocate and best brief awards at the National Moot Court Competition.

Our Mock Trial program has achieved similar success in the past five years. UGA had back-to-back championships at Baylor’s Top Gun Competition in 2022 and 2023. UGA has been the regional champion of the National Trial Competition for the past four years, with an overall quarterfinalist finish in 2022 and a semifinalist finish in 2025 at the national level. Since 2020, UGA has won a number of other invitational competitions, including the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge and the William Daniel Competition. Based on these successes, UGA students have been invited to compete in the Tournament of Champions in 2024 and 2025, a competition for the nation's top programs.

Participation in both Moot Court and Mock Trial increases student success not just at the law school level but also in their future careers as trial and appellate lawyers.

Which qualities can students build during the Trial Advocacy Program at the University of Georgia School of Law?

The primary goal of our advocacy program is to ensure students are prepared to walk into a courtroom on the first day of their career. Our students are offered a combination of trial and appellate courses in addition to individual instruction to ensure they are prepared to effectively advocate with confidence and authenticity.

All first-year law students are invited to compete in both Moot Court and Mock Trial intramurals, with additional intramural opportunities in the fall of their second year. These competitions allow students the chance to appear and argue before notable School of Law alumni and legal professionals, including federal and state court judges, professors, prosecutors, public defenders, and high-profile civil attorneys. Many of our Moot Court and Mock Trial teams are coached or prepared by dedicated and accomplished alumni prior to competition.

In addition to placement on competition teams, our advocacy students are encouraged to hone their skills by participating in one or more of our many legal clinics, such as our Appellate Litigation Clinic, the First Amendment Clinic, the Criminal Defense Practicum and the Prosecutorial Justice Program. These clinics provide students with practical experience and allow them the early chance to appear in federal and state courts under the Third Year Practice Act.

The variety of opportunities the University of Georgia School of Law provides not only prepares students for future success but also allows them to do so while gaining expertise and skills in the areas of law that are most important to them.

Juris Education is proud to interview experts at the nation's most renowned law schools for insights on what makes their programs unique and how they shape career-ready law students.