Alex Wilkerson ’22 Wins All-American Attorney Award Wilkerson received an All-American Attorney Award from the American Mock Trial Association.

By Connie Okeke '23
May 9, 2022

Washington and Lee University’s Alex Wilkerson ’22 has earned an All-American Attorney Award from the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA). The AMTA hosts official competitions every year beginning with regional tournaments in February. Wilkerson, from Nagoya, Japan, is majoring in politics and minoring in East Asian Studies.

More than 600 mock trial teams participated in this year’s competition. W&L’s team placed second at the AMTA’s opening round championship series in Washington, D.C. The top 48 teams from the series then competed in Pennsylvania at the national championship tournament in April. The All-American Attorney distinction is awarded to the top-performing students at the tournament. This year, only 29 competitors earned the award out of nearly 6,000 participants nationwide.

On campus, Wilkerson has served as the president of W&L’s mock trial team for two years and was a state chair for the 2020 Mock Convention. This year, the university’s mock trial team was able to qualify for the NCT for the first time in five years.

Last academic year, W&L narrowly missed qualifying for the NCT based on a tiebreaker. That experience motivated Wilkerson last summer to start planning how the team could improve. Wilkerson spent many hours each week working with the team in the early part of Fall Term.

“From the beginning of the academic year, we enjoyed success at invitational tournaments and went into the official season with a lot of momentum,” said Wilkerson. “Thanks to the hard work and commitment of everyone on the team, we were able to qualify for the NCT for the first time in five years. I am especially grateful for the help of Beth Belmont, clinical professor of law and director of the Community Legal Practice Clinic, and our other coaches. I am extremely proud of how far this team has come in such a short time.”

After graduation, Wilkerson plans to pursue a career in government affairs.

If you know a W&L student who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.