Center for Advocacy Education Staff
The Center for Advocacy Education promotes the continuing development of unparalleled advocacy skills through teaching, scholarship and research.
Stetson Law is ranked first in the nation for trial advocacy by U.S. News and World Report. Effective advocacy is one of a successful lawyer's most important skills, and Stetson's commitment to teaching advocacy is unmatched.
As you will see below, we have a robust team of dedicated professors and professionals with a diverse mix of backgrounds, skills, and experience to help serve our clients.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact us at 727-562-7317.
Elizabeth Boals
Associate Professor of Law, Professorship of Excellence in Trial Advocacy, and Perry Nichols Advocacy Chair
Liz Boals teaches Evidence, Criminal Law, and a variety of Advocacy courses and serves as the Director of the Center for Advocacy Education. Prior to her appointment at Stetson University College of Law in 2020, Professor Boals taught at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) for 15 years. At AUWCL, she served in administrative positions including as the Assistant Dean of Part-time and Online Education, Director of the Criminal Justice Practice and Policy Institute, and Associate Director of the Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program.
Professor Boals has published a variety of advocacy case files and books on criminal procedure and expert testimony. She is the recipient of multiple teaching and community leadership awards and is a long-time member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) teaching faculty. Professor Boals lectures frequently both domestically and abroad on topics related to expert witness testimony, eye-witness identification, and trial skills.
Before transitioning to a full-time teaching position, Professor Boals was a labor and employment litigation attorney for the U.S. Department of Commerce and in private practice. Professor Boals began her legal career as a public defender in the Office of the Public Defender in Alexandria, Virginia, handling a felony caseload from trials in Circuit Court through appeals to the Virginia Court of Appeals.
Professor; Practitioner in Residence; Director, Trial Team & Trial Advocacy
Katherine (Kate) Donoghue earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College with an All-Academic Honor in 2007, and her Juris Doctor Magna Cum Laude from Fordham Law School in 2010, at which time she was also inducted into the Order of the Coif, a national honorary scholastic society the purpose of which is to encourage excellence in legal education by fostering a spirit of careful study and recognizing those who as law students graduated in the top 10% of their class. In addition to her academic achievements, while at Bowdoin Kate was captain of the Women’s Soccer and Lacrosse Teams and was named an NCAA All-American, All-Region, and All-Conference player, and while at Fordham Kate was a member of the Trial Advocacy Team and Champion of the 2009 Lone Star Classic Mock Trial Tournament.
Following graduation, Kate was admitted to practice law in both New York and Connecticut. She began her career practicing complex commercial litigation at a law firm in New York, with a particular focus on contract and land-use disputes. Kate subsequently transitioned into public service advocacy where she initially worked for a nonprofit law firm representing abused and neglected children in juvenile court and then spent six years as an Assistant State's Attorney prosecuting cases on behalf of the State of Connecticut at both the trial and appellate levels. As a prosecutor, Kate was appointed as a Domestic Violence Coordinator and to Connecticut’s Human Trafficking Task Force. During her ten years of legal practice, Kate was also employed as an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at Fordham Law School. She still maintains her New York and Connecticut law licenses.
In 2020, after her family relocated to Florida, Kate transitioned to full-time academia. She began as a Professor of Legal Studies at Keiser University where she received the “Rising Star” Award and taught numerous courses including but not limited to Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Constitutional Law. At Stetson, Kate teaches Evidence, Jury Selection, and Trial Advocacy and directs Stetson’s nationally top-ranked Trial Team. Kate has been at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into legal education, developing innovative tools and teaching methods that enhance student learning and advocacy skills. Her work includes creating custom GPT-chatbots to help students practice and refine trial advocacy techniques; leveraging NotebookLM to generate audio overviews of complex evidentiary concepts; collaborating with software developers to design innovative learning tools for Jury Selection students; and co-authoring ethical guidelines governing the use of AI in mock trial competitions. Kate has shared her insights and innovations through presentations at the Association of American Law Schools Annual Conference (“AI & Advocacy”); the Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference (“Build Your Own ChatBot: How AI Can Help Students Learn and Practice Their Skills”); and as a guest on the Big Sea Podcast (“Trial by Algorithm: How AI-Powered Trial Prep Is Shaping a New Generation of Advocates”), where she discussed AI’s evolving role in legal education and student development.
Kate’s scholarship has been published by Cardozo Law Review, the Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law, and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. In 2025, Kate received national recognition when she was awarded the Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award, a prestigious honor recognizing exceptional commitment to professionalism, ethics, and excellence in advocacy education. Stetson has also recognized Kate’s tireless devotion and dedication to student development, naming her Stetson Law Employee of the Year and Stetson Trial Team Coach of the Year.
Jeffrey Gilberg
Practitioner in Residence, and Director of the Advocacy LLM & Professional Development Programs
Jeff Gilberg earned his B.A. from Bowdoin College (2000) and his J.D. from the University of Maryland (2004), where he was named to the Order of the Barristers. He also earned LL.M. degrees from The Judge Advocate General’s School (2014), where he was the recipient of the Judge Paul W. Brosman Award for highest standing in criminal law, and Boston College (2019), where he was the recipient of the LL.M. Leadership Award for outstanding contribution to the law school community. At Stetson University College of Law, Jeff is the Director for Advocacy LL.M. and Professional Development Programs. Prior to joining Stetson, Jeff served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Law, where he taught criminal law, criminal procedure, and military justice.
Previously, Jeff spent over twenty years on active duty in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps before retiring from the service in 2025. He served in locations around the world as a defense counsel (in three separate assignments) and as a prosecutor (four times). His final assignment was as the 1st Circuit Chief within the newly established and congressionally mandated Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC). On both sides of the aisle, Jeff handled thousands of criminal law cases, with nearly 600 of them resulting in a court-martial.
Carson Sadro earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of South Florida in 2016, and her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 2020. As a member of South Carolina’s nationally ranked Trial Advocacy Program, Ms. Sadro was a National Trial Competition Regional Champion and competitor at Baylor Law School’s prestigious Top Gun Competition. She also served as the Associate Editor-in-Chief for the ABA Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Journal and as a legal intern for the Special Victim’s Unit at the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Following graduation, Ms. Sadro served as an Assistant State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, covering Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties. As a prosecutor, Ms. Sadro was appointed to the Community Problem Response Unit and worked in conjunction with the Gang Unit to address violent crimes involving firearms and gangs. She subsequently returned to Tampa, Florida and transitioned into civil litigation, practicing at a respected local commercial litigation firm, with a particular focus on complex business disputes in state and federal courts.
Ms. Sadro is licensed to practice in Florida and the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. Ms. Sadro joined Stetson’s Trial Team as a Coach in 2023 and later joined Stetson Law School as the Associate Director of the Center for Advocacy Education in 2025.
Melanie Rice
Coordinator, Center for Advocacy Education - Teams and Competitions
