National Trial Advocacy College Prepares Aspiring Litigators to Command a Courtroom
One week before William & Mary Law School students returned to Williamsburg, Virginia for the Fall 2026 semester, a different class of students filled the halls.
The Law School served as this year’s location for the National Trial Advocacy College (NTAC), a prestigious training program organized by the Virginia Law Foundation (VLF) and Virginia CLE. For nearly 45 years, NTAC was held at the University of Virginia School of Law, and its new home at William & Mary presents incredible opportunities for both the Law School and the legal community.
“One of our top priorities at the Law School is to produce graduates who demonstrate absolute mastery of advocacy skills,” said A. Benjamin Spencer, dean and trustee professor of the Law School. “As part of our citizen lawyer ethos, we train students to be highly competent, ethical and responsible when advocating on behalf of their clients. Working closely with the VLF and Virginia CLE to bring NTAC to the Law School provides another avenue for students to gain advocacy experience and reinforces the Law School’s reputation as a preeminent purveyor of advocacy education.”
NTAC is a comprehensive, workshop-driven trial advocacy training program that draws attendees from across the country eager to hone their courtroom skills. The five-day College features intensive group work sessions in which participants practice the various elements of presenting a court case, supplemented by lectures from experienced litigators. The event ends with each participant trying a mock case in front of an experienced federal or state court judge.
The goal of NTAC is to provide a venue where attorneys interested in trial advocacy can get “on-your-feet” experience in an environment where they are encouraged to take risks and not be afraid to fail. The program’s success in providing that opportunity has made it one of the most sought-after trial training events in the country.
“I think one of the things that’s amazing is that over the past 44 years, the consistency of the faculty that keeps coming back because they love it so much is really second to none,” said Michael C. Zogby ’02, an NTAC faculty member and Law School alumnus who championed the new partnership. “There are other trial programs out there, but none of them have the same level of consistency, where people just keep coming back year after year. And the buy-in from law firms, from public defender offices and prosecutor offices around the country really reflects the small-room teaching that we try to do.”
Zogby is a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP and a member of the William & Mary Law School Foundation Board of Trustees. He first attended NTAC as a second-year associate and became a faculty member in 2010. His belief in the importance of quality advocacy education also led him, alongside his wife and fellow alumna Jamie Desciak Zogby ’02, to establish the Jamie Desciak Zogby and Michael C. Zogby Advocacy Endowment to provide funds for the Law School’s competition teams.
When UVA decided not to host NTAC in 2026, Zogby led the push to bring the College to his alma mater, further reinforcing the Law School’s commitment to excellence in advocacy training.
“It was really exciting to come back and see things full circle,” Zogby said. “I was so scared and so new to all of this as a law student, and now to be coming back having had these advocacy experiences and practicing it for 25 years, to be able help others, it really is a full-circle citizen lawyer type of moment.”
As part of the partnership, NTAC offered free registration to 16 Law School students.
Morgan Hovan ’27 said that when she received the email inviting students to register, she signed up “within 30 seconds.” Hovan has been involved with advocacy since her time doing mock trial as an undergraduate at Franklin & Marshall College. She joined the Law School’s National Trial Team as a 1L and as a 2L, was on the team that won the regional trial competition and competed at the 2026 National Trial Competition in Dallas, Texas. At nationals, Hovan, along with her teammates Devyn Sword ’26 and Robert Kunkel ’26, joined the 29 other regional winners from around the country. They advanced to the quarterfinal round, where they lost to the team who won the entire competition.
“I am always looking for more ways I can learn trial outside of the trial team,” said Hovan, who serves as Chief Counsel of the team. “I knew it was a CLE, I knew I was going 7 real attorneys, so it was the perfect time to actually practice being a real attorney instead of a mock attorney. I was very excited for the opportunity.”
During NTAC, Hovan and the other participants were separated into small groups and assigned faculty mentors. They presented the opening statements, direct and cross examination questions and closing arguments they had prepared in advance and received feedback on their arguments and courtroom presence.
One of Hovan’s faculty members was the Honorable Pamela E. Hutchens of Virginia’s 2nd judicial court, who is also an adjunct professor at the Law School.
“She was amazing. She gave us tips on changing a word to make it a little bit more persuasive,” Hovan said, pointing out that such focused, individualized feedback isn’t possible in large classes. “But when you’re only with 8 other students you really have that one-on-one experience.”
In the second half of the College, the attendees put their skills to the test. They were given a new case, split into teams and assigned to represent the plaintiff or defendant.
Hovan was paired with two other students and assigned to represent the plaintiff. The teams had two days to determine the facts, prepare their witnesses (played by other participants), craft arguments and perhaps most importantly, develop the narrative that would persuade the judges to rule in their favor. She presented the opening argument, which is her preferred role.
“I think the opening statement truly makes or breaks your case,” Hovan said. “I love to tell a convincing story and find that thin line of where you’re telling a persuasive story without it getting the objection of ‘argumentative.’”
The current law students had mostly been grouped together during the College, but for the final trial they competed against teams of practicing attorneys. Hovan said she didn’t know what to expect, but her experience at the National Trial Competition earlier in the year had built her confidence.
The trial was close, the judges said, but they ultimately ruled in Hovan’s team’s favor.
“It was a nice little ego boost for us,” Hovan said. “But the defense was phenomenal and it was a very even match up.”
Opportunities like NTAC allow legal professionals with any skill level and working in any field to become more confident practitioners. The ability to tell a story, present a compelling argument and persuade an audience is vital for nearly everyone practicing law.
“It’s not like you can get away from advocacy,” Zogby said. “If you’re signing up to be a lawyer, you’re going to have to do it. Even corporate lawyers have to present, they have to stand up, they have to talk. So find as many opportunities as you can to get on your feet, whether that is through trial programs like this, through the course work, clerking for a judge or finding smaller matters that you can handle. So many people are afraid of making that first step or failing at anything, but don’t be afraid to make the ask and put yourself out there.”
William & Mary Law School provides multiple avenues for students to build advocacy skills, including courses, clinics and competition teams. Directly support these advocacy experiences with a gift to the Jamie Desciak Zogby and Michael C. Zogby Advocacy Endowment, to a specific clinic or team or to the Law School Annual Fund.