Matthew Holmes, a third-year law student, will be awarded a prestigious national scholarship from the American Association for Justice (AAJ)—the only law student in the country to earn this honor. He will be invited to attend AAJ’s National Convention in Baltimore, Md., and will be recognized at one of their final dinners.
Matthew Holmes
Holmes was raised in a small town in northern Wisconsin. He received a bachelor of arts in political science from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. While at Carthage, Holmes developed an interest in law school and trial advocacy as a member of the Mock Trial team, where he won multiple top-attorney and best-advocate awards.
Upon graduating from Carthage, Holmes decided to attend Syracuse University College of Law because he learned that the College of Law’s trial advocacy program was one of the best in the nation. During his second year at Syracuse, Holmes was one of the first second-year students selected to be an arguing member on Syracuse’s national trial team.
In the fall, he competed in the prestigious Tournament of Champions trial competition in Birmingham, Ala. In the spring he first competed in the regional National Trial Competition located in White Plains, N.Y. Holmes’ team was ranked second throughout the entire competition until they narrowly lost in the final round. After this competition, Holmes competed in the Student Trial Advocacy Competition (STAC) hosted by AAJ. His team won the regional competition in Boston and advanced all the way to the final round of the national competition in Santa Monica, Calif.
During his final year of law school at Syracuse, Holmes will continue to be an active member of the trial team and Syracuse’s Moot Court Honor Society, and will participate in the school’s criminal defense clinic, where he will be able to represent individuals in Syracuse Criminal Court. After law school, Holmes plans on living and working in Rochester, Buffalo or Syracuse, where he wants to represent victims of negligence.
