KU Law graduates earn first national advocacy honors

Two recent University of Kansas School of Law graduates turned years of courtroom training into a first for Lawrence: Logan Brtek and Alex Nelson became the first KU Law students to earn Academic All-American Advocate honors from the National Association of Legal Advocacy Educators. Brtek was named an Academic All-American Trial Advocate, while Nelson was named an Academic All-American Appellate Advocate.

The recognition matters beyond campus pride. KU said the awards reflect competition performance, academic achievement, leadership, and service, the same mix of skills that future lawyers need when they stand up for Douglas County clients, file motions, question witnesses, or argue before judges. For KU Law, it is also a signal that its advocacy pipeline is producing graduates whose work is being noticed in a national legal-education network.

Brtek, a 2026 graduate from Norfolk, Nebraska, was one of 20 law students nationwide selected as a Trial Advocate. During law school, she competed in five mock trial competitions, including Trials and Tribulations, the National Trial Advocacy Competition, and the National Trial Competition. She earned a Best Direct Examination award at the National Trial Advocacy Competition and advanced to the regional quarterfinals of the National Trial Competition. Brtek said she had participated in mock trial since freshman year of high school, making the 2025-26 season her 10th year of competition. She also said public defense inspired her to pursue trial advocacy. Adam Sokoloff, professor and director of KU Law’s trial advocacy and mock trial programs, nominated her. Brtek coached the KU undergraduate mock trial team, served on the law school’s Mock Trial Council, and will join the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender in the fall.

Nelson, a 2026 graduate from Stillwater, Minnesota, was one of only six law students nationwide selected as an Academic All-American Appellate Advocate. His student-ambassador profile shows a path built around writing, speaking, and public service. He studied philosophy and Spanish at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, then worked for two years before law school, one year at the Kansas City Public Library and one year at the Kansas Bar Association. At KU Law, he was involved in the Native American Law Students Association, the Public Interest Law Society, KU Court of Parking Appeals, and Jayhawk Defenders.

KU Law says its litigation program gives students hands-on experience through skills simulation workshops, clinics, field placements, moot court competitions, mock trial contests, and courses such as Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy, and deposition skills training. Its moot court program regularly ranks among the top 30 law schools nationwide. The Shook, Hardy & Bacon Center for Excellence in Advocacy, founded in June 2008, was created to train students, support alumni and the regional bar, and open new scholarly opportunities. For Lawrence and Douglas County, the honors show that the next generation of advocates is being trained close to home, with skills that travel directly into local courtrooms.