EATS 2024
Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference

Advancing Advocacy Teaching Through Collaboration, Innovation and Technology

June 10-12, 2024

The Educating Advocacy Teachers (EATS) Conference has been hosted by Stetson Law for almost two decades and is well-known in the Advocacy community as being a truly dynamic and collaborative experience. The unique conference invites educators from around the country to share their experiences, while facilitating the exploration of new teaching techniques and technology in this specialized area. The 2024 conference will be comprised of various panels, workshops, and breakout sessions that promote small-group discussion and interaction based on trending topics identified by the trial advocacy community.

EATS is also a celebration of achievement in advocacy teaching. At the 2024 Conference, we will celebrate the recipients of the Annual Advocacy Writing Competition Award, Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award.

EATS is an interactive conference and we are planning EATS 2024 as an in-person experience; however, we want to facilitate those who need to attend remotely. All sessions will be recorded, and some sessions will be live-streamed for online participants to watch in real time.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

 

Early Bird Registration Rate (ends April 1, 2024)
Individual: $400
Group: $400 for the first registrant, $300 for every additional person in the group

Regular Registration Rate (ends June 6, 2024)
Individual: $500
Group: $500 for the first registrant, $300 for every additional person in the group

For administrative purposes, the online and in-person price is the same.

More information coming soon

In the meantime...

View Last Year's Conference Agenda

View Last Year's Speaker Bios Below

Speakers

Tim Adams
Tim Adams

Director of Mock Trial
Adjunct Professor
Texas Southern University
Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Houston, TX

no photo
Brett H. Bayne

Attorney with MGC Insurance Defense
Trial Advocacy Adjunct, Director & Head Coach of Mock Trial
University of South Carolina School of Law 
Columbia, SC

no photo
A.J. Bellido de Luna

Assistant Dean for Advocacy
Hardy Professorship
St. Mary's University School of Law
San Antonio, TX

...
Elizabeth Berenguer

Associate Professor of Law
Co-Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Legal Communication Director of Online Legal Education Strategies
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

...
Todd Berger

Professor of Law
Director, Advocacy Programs
Director, Philadelphia Externship Program
Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse, NY

...
Justin Bernstein

Director of A. Barry Cappello Program in Trial Advocacy
Lecturer in Law
UCLA School of Law
Los Angeles, CA

Liz Boals
Elizabeth I. Boals

Director, Center for Excellence in Advocacy
Assistant Professor of Law
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

...
Paige Boorman

Senior Assistant District Attorney, DeKalb County District Attorney's Office
Professor
Head Coach, Georgia State University College of Law Student Trial Lawyers Association
Atlanta, GA

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Marian Braccia

Director of the LL.M. in Trial Advocacy Program
Practice Professor of Law
Temple University Beasley School of Law
Philadelphia, PA

...
Jeff Brooks

Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Faculty Director of the Law Center’s Field Placement Program
Faculty Director of Moot Court, Mock Trial, and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Lousiana State University Law Center
Baton Rouge, LA

no photo
Megan Chaney

Co-Director, Criminal Justice Field Placement Clinic
Professor of Law
Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law
Fort Lauderdale, FL

...
Ashley Krenelka Chase

Assistant Professor of Law
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

...
Elizabeth Cooke

Clinic Professor in Trial Advocacy
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH

no photo
Jennifer Copland

Associate Clinical Professor of Law
Director, Appellate Moot Court Program
Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, MI

kate donoghue
Kate Donoghue

Associate Director, Center for Excellence in Advocacy
Adjunct Professor
Advocacy Skills Trainer
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

no photo
Brandon Draper

Assistant Professor of Law
Texas Southern University
Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Houston, TX

jules epstein
Jules Epstein

Professor of Law; Director of Advocacy Programs
Temple University Beasley School of Law
Philadelphia, PA

...
Louis Fasulo

Partner, Fasulo, Braverman, and DiMaggio; Professor of Practice and Director of Advocacy, Moot Court and Client Counseling
Pace Law School
White Plains, NY

...
Mike Golden

Lecturer and Director of Advocacy
University of Texas School of Law
Austin, TX

...
Dominique Hinson

Director of Appellate Advocacy
Adjunct Law Professor
South Texas College of Law
Houston, TX

...
Brian Hughes

Head Mock Trial Coach
Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy
St. John’s University College of Law
Queens, NY

...
The Honorable Adam Hunter

Rental Housing Commission
Adjunct Professor/Coach, Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Moot Court Team
Howard University School of Law
Washington D.C.

Tim Adams
Ashley Hymel

Chair-elect, Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA)
National Trial Competition (NTC) Executive Committee Advisor
Houston, TX

alicia jackson
Alicia Jackson

Assistant Professor of Law
Director of Academic Success and Bar Preparation
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

joe lester
Joe Lester

Associate Director of Trial Advocacy
University of Georgia School of Law
Athens, GA

elizabeth lippy
Elizabeth Lippy

Practice Professor of Law
Director of the Trial Advocacy Program
Temple University Beasley School of Law
Philadelphia, PA

robert little
Robert Little

Director of Advocacy Programs
Lecturer
Baylor University, Sheila & Walter Umphrey Law Center
Waco, TX

...
Rhani Lott Choi

Education Director
National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA)
Boulder, CO

Denitsa Mavrova Heinrich
Denitsa Mavrova Heinrich

Rodney & Betty Webb Associate Professor of Law
Director, Lawyering Skills & Trial Advocacy Programs
University of North Dakota, College of Law
Grand Forks, ND

...
Gabriel Mendoza

Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy
Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute
St. John’s University College of Law
Queens, NY

...
Marcus Mitchell

Associate, Garriott|Maurer
Adjunct Professor
Regent University School of Law
Virginia Beach, VA

Kelly Navarro
Kelly Navarro

Director of Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Programs
The UIC John Marshall Law School
Chicago, IL

...
Spencer Pahlke

Shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
Lecturer and Director of Trial Advocacy
UC Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA 

...
Philip Pasquarello

Trial Competition Director, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law
Trial Attorney at Kline & Specter, PC
Philadelphia, PA

...
Vicki Peters

Assistant United States Attorney, retired
Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy
University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law
Chicago, IL

...
Katie Powers

Assistant Dean of Advocacy
Mercer Law School
Macon, GA

no photo
Brandon Prescott

Executive Director of Development & Alumni Engagement
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

...
David Raack

Professor of Law
Faculty Advisor to Moot Court
Ohio Northern University College of Law
Ada, OH 

...
Jennifer Rafter

Associate Director of Membership
American Association of Justice (AAJ)
Washington, D.C.

...
Reza Rezvani

Associate Director of Trial Advocacy Associate Professor of Law, Legal Practice
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Sacramento, CA

judge jim roberts
The Honorable Jim Roberts

Circuit Court Judge
Sixth Judicial Circuit
Tuscaloosa, AL
Head of National Trial Teams
Samford University
Cumberland School of Law

kaelyn romey
Kaelyn Romey

Visiting Professor of Tax Law
University of San Francisco School of Law
Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy & Evidence
UC Hastings College of Law
John Marshall Atlanta School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law

jared rosenblatt
Jared Rosenblatt

Bureau Chief, Homicide Bureau
Director Forensic Science/Cold Case Prosecutions at Nassau County District Attorney
Adjunct Professor
Maurice A. Deane School of Law
at Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY

Grant Rost
Grant Rost

Senior Instructor of Lawyering Skills
Director of the Center for Lawyering Skills
Liberty University School of Law
Lynchburg, VA

david schott
David Schott

Professor of the Practice of Law
Director, The Center for Advocacy
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Denver, CO

adam shlahet
Adam Shlahet

Director
Brendan Moore Trial Advocacy Center
Fordham University School of Law
New York City, NY

no photo
Gwen Stern

Director of the Trial Advocacy Program; Professor of Law
Drexel University
Thomas R. Kline School of Law
Philadelphia, PA

no photo
Dan Tilly

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
Buies Creek, NC

jay vanderzee
Michael "Jay" VanDerZee

Director of Trial Teams and Professor of Practice
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

...
Stephanie Vaughn

Professor of Law
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

christine weems
The Honorable Christine Weems

Judge of the 281st Civil Judicial District Court
Houston, Texas
Director of the National Mock Trial Team
University of Houston Law Center

no photo
Jamie Pukl-Werbel

Associate Professor
Director of Experiential Learning
Seton Hall University School of Law
Newark, NJ

no photo
Matt Woodham

Assistant Professor of Law
Interim Director of Advocacy
Cumberland School of Law
Birmingham, AL

...
Davis G. Yee

Special Trial Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel for the IRS
Adjunct Professor, University of San Francisco School of Law
San Francisco, CA

Awards

Award Nominations

The deadline to submit your nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award is April 1, 2024. Vote now.

Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching Advocacy

This award is presented to recognize those who have fundamentally changed the way in which the world approaches the teaching of advocacy. The recipient has demonstrated a distinct commitment and dedication to improving teaching methodology in the area of advocacy and advancing the standard of excellence.

Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award

This award was created to pay forward the dedication and commitment our good friend Professor Edward Ohlbaum displayed, throughout his career, to the ethical teaching of an entire generation of advocates. The purpose of this award is to honor an individual whose life, teaching, and coaching display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.

View past award winners

What Participants Have Said About Our Conference

"Anyone interested in teaching advocates should try this out. It's important to protecting our profession and developing it along the path it needs to travel. EATS is really that important. It's been an eye-opener for me, reconnecting with the trial advocacy community. I'm going to be encouraging a number of people at my school to attend in the future."

- Lawrence Mann, Director of Practical Skills, Wayne State University Law School

"It's the only opportunity I've ever seen to get together with other people who do what you do and love it. We all just want to get better. Collaborating with these people creates new ideas that make you a better version of the teacher you already are."

- KellyAnne Holohan, Adjunct Professor, Fordham University School of Law

"EATS is in the vanguard of the legal profession. It teaches law professors to look to the future and to share all their work with other law professors. It's gaining in strength and popularity year to year and is an example of what every law school needs.”

- Gillian More, Retired High Court Prosecutor Scotland

"It was great to network with teachers and coaches in the trial advocacy community in an environment, like this, that doesn't involve competition or anything formal. The free exchange of ideas was invigorating and already changed the way I coach mock trial teams.”

- Mike Rasmussen, Adjunct Professor, Cumberland School of Law

CLE Information

Stetson University College of Law will apply for CLE in Florida. Additionally, we will provide attendees with a certificate of attendance and a packet of materials so that you may apply for CLE in states other than Florida. Generally, Stetson University College of Law does not pay the application fee for CLE applications in states other than Florida. However, if your state requires a sponsor to file on behalf of the attorney, we may offer to seek accreditation in that state upon your request. While we cannot guarantee we will file in those states, we will do our best to accommodate requests of that nature.

Vendors

We will continue our practice of inviting vendors to update you on the latest developments in advocacy-related products and teaching materials.