Meet The Coach

Adam Sommer started coaching UCM Mock Trial in the fall of 2013. He is a practicing attorney in Warrensburg at his firm, Harris, Harris and Sommer, LLC maintaining a general practice with concentration on family law, civil litigation, municipal government and prosecution, business representation and startup, and trial practice. He is a graduate of Univ. of Missouri, School of Law in 2012 where he was a member of the law school’s Attorney General Cup and TYLA mock trial competition teams, and a 2008 graduate of UCM with a degree in Political Science and Sociology.  Adam’s coaching at UCM is a return to the program where he was a competitor from Fall of 2006 until his graduation from UCM in December, 2008. During his 2 1/2 seasons UCM made the “National Silver” competition (the equivalent of modern day O.R.C.S.) while earning both outstanding regional and national awards for witness and attorney performances along with various invitational awards. Combining undergraduate and law school competitions, and his role as UCM’s coach, Adam has over a decade of experience in mock trial. As a trial attorney Adam has conducted over 100 trials in Missouri, including bench and jury trials. Adam has also made multiple successful trips to the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals. Adam brings his experience to the classroom at UCM to provide a practical application of the classroom experience at UCM in the spirit of UCM’s dedication to provide “opportunity in action” for students.

Since taking over the program’s coaching duties in Fall of 2013 UCM has earned a direct bid to the AMTA ORCS tournament in all but one year, earning an open bid during the 2014-2015 season after a 4.5-3.5 regionals finish. During that span team members graduating from UCM Mock Trial have a 100% acceptance rate to law school and many have earned scholarships in addition to acceptance. Post law school UCM Mock Trial alums find employment with ease across all areas of law and business. Adam’s hope is to continue growing UCM’s program as a nationally competitive program and as the most successful team in Missouri among all public universities. The program’s goal is to ensure that team members are able to not only attend law school but also thrive in their professional roles after graduation, answering the call well known to UCM Mock Trial students: What’s Next?