EATS 2025
Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference
Advancing Advocacy Teaching Through Collaboration, Innovation and Technology
June 9-11, 2025
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 2025 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 2025 Conference, we will celebrate the recipients of the Annual Advocacy Writing Competition Award, Edward D. Ohlbaum "The Eddie" Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award.
EATS is an interactive conference and we are planning EATS 2025 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.
Speakers (Coming Soon)
Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching Advocacy
This award recognizes individuals for their exceptional contributions and lasting positive impact on how the art and science of advocacy is taught. The award acknowledges sustained high-quality work and significant accomplishments throughout a lifetime of dedicated service, as well as demonstrated commitment and continuous effort to improve advocacy education. Through a lifetime of leadership, they have inspired others in the advocacy community and have served as role models for future generations of trial lawyers.
Edward D. Ohlbaum ("The Eddie") Award
This award was created to pay forward the dedication and commitment that our friend Professor Edward Ohlbaum displayed throughout his career of coaching, training, and teaching an entire generation of advocates. The purpose of this award is to honor a relatively new coach or teacher who has displayed dedication to continuing Professor Ohlbaum’s legacy of training competent and well-rounded advocates. Special consideration will be given to those who display the highest standards of professionalism and the rule of law in their teaching.
Cornerstone Award
The award recognizes transformative members of the advocacy community who work to pioneer unique learning opportunities across the profession. The recipients of the Cornerstone Award are recognized for their unwavering commitment to protecting the right to trial by jury, developing innovative advocacy skills training opportunities, and/or contributing to the success of others within the advocacy community. Because this award celebrates the members of our community whose contributions are novel or may be based on a singular and distinct initiative, it is not offered annually.
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."
"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."
"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.”
"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.”
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.