Thompson wins trial competition at Samford

Hartselle native Cline Thompson and his teammate, Montgomery native Rory McKean, won the Parham Williams Trial Competition, one of the largest trial competitions held at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.
In February, 72 first-year law students divided into 36 teams to begin the competition. Through-out the competition, teams represented both the State and Defense in fictitious murder cases.
Students were scored on their skills as trial advocates. After each team prosecuted the case once and defended the case once, the top 16 teams were selected and paired into a bracket. From there, competition narrowed the field each week.
On Thursday, March 24, the final two teams in the championship, in which Thompson and McKean defeated two of their teammates.
Scorers for the championship round included Birmingham area attorneys, Jefferson County assistant district attorneys, law school professors and Judge John Carroll, dean of the Cumberland School of Law.
Thompson graduated from Hartselle High School in 2006 and the University of Alabama in 2010.
McKean graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2010.