Campbell Law finishes as semi-finalists at Kilpatrick 1L Mock Trial Competition

Photo of Campbell Law 1L advocates Jay Hawkins, Abby Vaught, Clinton Jones and JD Peebles, who participated in UNC Law's Kilpatrick 1L Mock Trial Competition in 2026

A team of Campbell Law School advocates finished as semi-finalists in the 2026  Kilpatrick Townsend 1L Mock Trial Competition, an annual event hosted by the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Law for first-year students from North Carolina law schools. 

Teams typically participate in two preliminary rounds, with top teams advancing to quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds.

The team finishing among the four semi-finalists in the competition was made up of Jay Hawkins, Abby Vaught, Clinton Jones and JD Peebles. Vaught received a Best Advocate Award, and Peebles and Jones received Best Witness Awards. The other three semi-finalist teams were all from Wake Forest Law, which eventually won the competition. 

Jones wrote about Vaught on LinkedIn, “Words can’t express how impressed I am by this young lady who has been the driving force behind the success of our team.”

Daiana Mendoza-Acosta and Stephen Sempowich also won two Outstanding Witness Awards and Emily Collins won a Best Advocate Award over the weekend, which are given to students who demonstrated a great performance throughout the three rounds. She wrote on LinkedIn that her team gained valuable skills that will help them succeed in the rest of their law school career and later as future attorneys. “Diligence helped this team succeed this weekend,” she said. “I am beyond proud of the work that flourished from this team’s collaboration and dedication.”

There were six other Campbell Law teams participating in the competition; 

  • Team 1: Kenneth Cole, Alexi (Alex) Arbaiza, Emily Collins, Robert (Alex) Goettage, Nicholas Dorer and Nicholas Holden. 
  • Team 2: Joey Macasieb, Hugh Miller, Josh Howard and Eric Kinyon. 
  • Team 3: Keeland Covell, Krish Patel, Yasmine Koussa, Sydney Sheppard, Cassidy Bowen and Skylar Savitt. 
  • Team 4: Madeline Evans, Christian-Kate Hayes, Reis Rothman and Herneet Bajwa. 
  • Team 5: Rebecca Tyson, Eliza Wolfe, Charlotte Munsey, Jack Fortin, Madison Walker and Benton Williams. 
  • Team 6: Joshua Urbach, Daiana Mendoza-Acosta, David “Owen” Rose, Aaron Cohoon, John “Hunter” Hancock and Stephen Sempowich. 

The competition allows 1Ls who are usually not permitted to join advocacy teams to practice courtroom skills, such as witness examination and opening/closing statements, in a low-stress setting. Participants argue both sides of a criminal case. Using a pre-released case packet, students prepare both sides (prosecution/defense). The competition is designed as a learning opportunity for students interested in litigation. 

“Congratulations to all of our Campbell Law advocates who competed over the weekend and especially to our semi-finalist team members and to those who were recognized as best advocates and best witnesses,” said Rene Shekmer, director of Campbell Law’s competitive advocacy program.