Temple’s National Trial Team continued their Region III dominance this weekend, sending all four team members to the final round, from which 3Ls Courtney Chlebina and Corbin Gardner emerged victorious. Gardner also received the Ohlbaum Best Advocate Award for his final trial. Temple has taken top honors in the regional competition for 29 of the past 31 years.
The win marks Chlebina’s second Region III triumph in as many years. Chlebina and Gardner will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the national championship in late March.
3L Allison Christian and 2L Yashesh Patel also advanced to the final round of the competition. Director of Advocacy Programs Jules Epstein praised all four competitors, describing their efforts as,“outstanding and tireless.”
Temple Law School served as host for the 2017 competition, which included a lunch-and-learn program in which student advocates from several schools met with and heard from a lawyer, juror and exoneree in a recent high-profile Philadelphia trial.