American Journal of
Trial Advocacy

Volume 32 Editorial Board
2008-2009

Katherine E. Reeves
Editor in Chief

J. Gabriel Carpenter
Executive Editor

Janice R. Ballard
Lindsay E. Hale
Jennifer A. Smith
Research & Writing Editors

Summer A. Davis
Justin L. Jones
Articles Editors

Timothy P. Cook
Student Materials Editor

Senior Associate Editors

Wesley J. Hunter
Hannah B. Lansdon
Julie E. McMakin
Allison J. Miller
Caroline C. Owings
David T. Rohwedder
Anna L. Smith


Junior Associate Editors
TBA September 2008

Committee Chairpersons
TBA September 2008

Members

Membership Candidacy Requirements.    Candidates programs for new members are held in August and January each year.  An invitation to write for membership by participating in a program is extended to students at Cumberland School of Law who are in the top one-third of their class after their second or third semesters.  Cumberland students can be eligible for membership only once.

• The Summer Writing Program is conducted in June and July for all Cumberland 2L students in the top one-third of the class after their first year.  1Ls should submit their summer address information to the Journal by the first of June to avoid delays in receiving an invitation to participate in the candidates program. Review our (tentative) Summer Program Schedule and plan ahead to participate! We encourage 1Ls to contact us with specific summer writing program questions before scheduling irreversible summer travel plans. 
• The Third Semester Writing Program is conducted in January for 2L students at Cumberland who moved into the top one-third of their class after their third semester OR who transferred into Cumberland their second year and are ranked in Cumberland's top one-third.    Also look at our (tentative) January Program Schedule and plan ahead to participate!

NOTE:  The above should not be construed to mean that 1Ls have a choice of which writing program to participate in.  Deferrals of candidacy from the summer to January are granted rarely (when a formal written request is made in June, and only for an exceptional reason); most students will have only one opportunity to write for membership.

Additionally, the Journal may offer a one-time candidacy to one or more of the following 1L students:  (1) the authors of the best memos or briefs in Cumberland’s Lawyering Skills and Legal Reasoning Program; (2) the finalists of the Parham H. Williams Freshman Trial Competition; and (3) the winners of the Donworth Freshman Moot Court Competition.  All candidates must successfully complete the writing program for which they are eligible in order to be extended an offer of membership.

Membership Benefits.  Membership on the American Journal of Trial Advocacy provides 2L and 3L students of Cumberland School of Law with the learning experience that is unique to law reviews.  Members citecheck, edit, and research articles in a detailed manner that cannot be found in other activities in a law student's career.  And because of the Journal's unique focus, members write and work on practical materials that will be of use to them in their practice after graduation.

In addition to leadership scholarship opportunities for members who serve as editors their senior year, two cash scholarship awards are presented to members with outstanding writing skills:

• The Vulcan Materials Company Scholarship Award for Outstanding Candidates Paper is presented to a brand new Journal member each September.  A committee of Cumberland faculty choose the paper from the top scoring papers in the Journal's Summer Candidates Writing Program.

• The Birmingham law firm of King Horsley & Lyons presents The Senior Writing Award to the 3L Journal member who writes the best senior paper on a trial advocacy topic.

Other perks of Journal membership include:   the opportunity to publish in a national law review, a supportive network of legal professionals in the AJTA National Alumni Foundation, access to an outline file compiled by fellow members, a private computer lab with access to Westlaw and Lexis, and comfortable office space for study and social interaction.

The American Journal of Trial Advocacy is a member in good standing of the National Conference of Law Reviews.