Major Gift Ensures Continued Success of Trial Advocacy Program

Achieving and maintaining a high quality, nationally ranked advocacy program year after year requires a commitment to excellence by everyone involved from the students, the faculty, and the law school, to the alumni and the greater law school community. Recognizing the importance of trial advocacy in the legal profession and the seeking to ensure the continued success of Maryland's Trial Advocacy Program, Stuart Salsbury, ´71, and wife Suzanne, ´73, have established the Stuart M. and Suzanne B. Salsbury Trial Advocacy Fund with a major gift to the law school. The fund will ensure that Maryland's nationally recognized program will have the funding necessary to not only continue its status as one of the nation's premiere advocacy programs but also attract talented students to the program in the future.

In addition to the Salsburys' Trial Advocacy Fund, over 65 other donors contributed more than $42,000 to the School of Law's Advocacy Fund, including David Levin whose major gift as an Advocacy Champion strongly enhanced the overall success of this year's fund drive. These gifts reflect not only the generosity of these alumni, but also the confidence they have in our faculty and students to maintain this nationally recognized program for years to come.

The funds were announced at a kickoff party for the Maryland National Trial Team as it was preparing to host the 2008 NITA Tournament of Champions competition from October 30th-November 1st. Having beaten the best trial advocacy teams in the country to be named Tournament champion in 2006, the Maryland Trial Advocacy Team earned the right to host the national championship this year. This time, the Maryland's National Trial Team advanced to the semi-final round as the third seed before losing to the eventual 2008 tournament champion.