“AWARD-WINNING”. These are words you want to associate with the law school you attend. You want to go to a law school that is recognized as a place where future lawyers learn and grow, both professionally and personally while supplying ample opportunities to receive the experience and hands-on training that’s required to be successful upon graduation.
Empowering Students with Hands-On Training: Award-Winning Clinics, Advocacy and Field Placement Programs
At Faulkner Law, we’re proud to offer programs that have earned many prestigious awards and made us stand out among our peers. As a law school with a clear mission of providing a challenging legal education in a Christian environment, we strive to create programs that further enhance our curriculum and give our students the opportunity to nurture their skills and reach their fullest potential.
Trial Advocacy Program: Providing Students with Advanced Litigation Training
In 2018, U.S. News ranked Faulkner Law 15th in Best Trial Advocacy Programs. While the main mission of our Trial Advocacy Program is to get students who are interested in litigation practice-ready on day one, this program has proven to help them develop their skills as a lawyer, better enabling them to understand and break down cases in order to truly find the heart of the matter.
Unlike many other law schools, our Trial Advocacy Program is co-curricular, rather than extracurricular. We’ve developed a program that earns students academic credit and is treated as a course – they’re not just putting time towards the program on nights and weekends.
As a small school, we believe this program is where you really see the family environment come out in real-world success. Our faculty has the ability to work closely with students and help them hone their skills. Not only are they teaching classes, but they’re devoting time after-hours to coach our teams and judge competitions.
To us, this represents an institutional commitment to the Trial Advocacy Program that goes beyond the norm, allowing our students to be successful in competitions across the country, and ultimately, strengthen their litigation skills.
Opportunities to Participate in Trial Advocacy Competitions
Since 2010, the Faulkner Law Trial Advocacy Program has earned 10 National Championships, 17 Regional Championship Titles, and more than 50 individual student awards. Whether moot court or mock trial competitions, we’ve had great success, winning awards in places like Seattle, New York, Texas, Florida, and California, to name a few. We’re a proven brand that’s highly recognized by our peers throughout the country.
Each year in the fall, we host The Mockingbird Challenge National Mock Trial Competition that has become the “kick-off” of trial competitions. Not only does this challenge show other schools from around the country the quality of our students, but it also creates a national networking opportunity for them.
We also run three intra-scholastic competitions each year: the J. Greg Allen Intra-School Mock Trial Competition for third-year students, the Hind Closing Argument Competition for first-year students, and then our First-Year Moot Court Competition that we hold that at the Alabama Supreme Court.
Being a part of the nationally recognized Trial Advocacy Program provides a tremendous opportunity for students to not only go out and compete in order to perfect their skills but show others, from California to New York, that we are a school to be reckoned with.
How Our Externship Program Equips Students with Real-World Experience
Our externship, or field placement program, is an upper-level experiential learning opportunity where students practice the application of the law in an actual legal setting. They receive hands-on practical training with the benefit of supervision and mentoring from their supervising attorney or judge.
Our location in the state capital of Montgomery supplies a wealth of opportunities, giving our students the option of working in a variety of settings, including:
- Alabama Supreme Court
- Attorney General’s Office
- District Attorney’s Office
- Public Defender’s Office
- State Appellate & Trial Court Systems
- Federal Courthouse
- Middle District of Alabama
- Federal Public Defender’s Middle District Office
- Alabama Department of Transportation
- Alabama Department of Environmental Management
- Various pro bono legal services
As you can see, we don’t ever have a problem finding a place for students, and they can tailor the experience in terms of what they’re interested in, which is a unique feature of our law school’s externship program.
Hoping for a government job? Faulkner Law Recognized as a Top School for That
National Jurist listed Faulkner Law as one of the top law schools for preparing students for public service in government. Along with our devoted faculty and challenging curriculum, we attribute a large part of this to the fact that countless state agencies and legal departments are headquartered right here in Montgomery, AL.
Even more, most every statewide association tends to be headquartered here as well, including the Alabama District Attorneys Association, the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Alabama Bar Association.
Our location enables us to closely interact with these agencies while also furthering our Christian mission of producing quality graduates with a desire to dedicate themselves to a life of service.
Faulkner Law Clinics and Their Impact on the Montgomery Community
Another part of our experiential learning program is our clinics where students are engaging in pro bono legal work – taking on real clients and cases. These include the Elder Law Clinic for lower-income seniors, the Family Violence Clinic for victims of domestic abuse, and our Mediation Clinic where we mediate small claims.
Our clinics have earned multiple awards, including:
- The Montgomery Volunteer Lawyers Program’s Gold Medallion Award for the last three years. This award recognizes law firms that provide pro bono legal services to the community.
- The Unity Award from Leadership Montgomery, a local program filled with community leaders from around the area.
- Clinical Professor, Kelly McTear, recently received the Montgomery Volunteer Lawyers Program’s Good Samaritan Award for providing outstanding pro bono legal services in the Montgomery area.
Though not a clinic award, specifically, we believe it’s also important to note that the law school received the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 MGM Impact Maker in the Mid-size Business Category. While recognizing the law school as a whole, we believe this speaks to the service that we provide to the community through our clinics and simply by turning out practice-ready lawyers that turn into civic leaders and engaged citizens.
Our clinics strongly align with our mission of serving others and helping them in trying circumstances. As lawyers, we must advocate for our clients and be an officer of the court, but we also have a duty as public citizens, which includes providing pro bono legal services, assisting those in need, and ultimately, working for the public good at large.
Not only are we responsible for serving our clients, but as lawyers, we have a larger responsibility to impact our community.
Be a Part of Faulkner Law’s Award-Winning Legacy
As a law school that strives to provide students with ample opportunities to receive hands-on training, we believe the countless awards our programs have received are only the beginning.
The true testament is our students who are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful lawyers dedicated to serving their community.
Learn More About Faulkner Law in Montgomery, Alabama
Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law is a small, Christian law school in Montgomery, Alabama with a mission to provide students with a unique advantage through the rigorous curriculum and hands-on experience. While providing an education anchored by not only intellect but also character and service, Faulkner’s Jones School of Law seeks students who will not only succeed academically but who also have a desire to use their legal degree to seek justice and serve their communities – wherever that may be. Contact Faulkner Law today at 800.879.9816.