PHC alumnus David Bainbridge wins UVA Law Moot Court tournament

David Bainbridge (APP, '22) and his partner Eric Meinerding won the 97^th William Minor Lile Moot Court competition at the University of Virginia School of Law (UVA Law) on November 6.

Starting at UVA Law one year after graduating from PHC with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government: American Politics and Policy, David is fulfilling the dream that he’d had even before attending PHC: going to law school. 

During his freshman year at PHC, the Moot Court Program continued to foster David’s desire to practice law. It was a test of sorts that David made for himself: “If I enjoy Moot Court, then that will be an indication of whether I’ll enjoy law school.” 

After graduation and a brief stint in South Africa as an apprentice for a lawyer in Cape Town, David studied abroad for a year in Prague. Then, in 2023, he commenced his degree at UVA Law.

During his first month at UVA, David discovered that Eric Meinerding, a Liberty University alumnus whom he had faced and lost to in a regional moot court qualifier while at PHC, was also a first-year student.

David's immediate thought was, “Oh, we've got to pair up for the Moot Court competition here.” They joined forces for UVA's annual competition as second-year students (a competition which spans students' 2L and 3L years), finally achieving victory earlier this month.

In addition to participating in moot court and mock trial at PHC, David credits the emphasis on clear writing in classes like Dr. Robert Spinney's U.S. History classes I-II as extremely helpful for brief writing. Dr. Spinney’s insistence on clear topic sentences, concise paragraphs, and reasoned arguments in the first sentence of every paragraph of every paper shaped invaluable writing habits.

This was helpful because, as David said, “The time that you spend up in the courtroom is very minimal; even for the Moot Court competitions, half of the score is the brief writing. The briefs need to be really clean, and you need to know how to convey arguments clearly. A lot of classes did this, but Dr. Spinney in particular made sure that we were very clear with our arguments.”

David also enjoyed Freedoms I-II with Dr. Roberta Bayer, not only because of the content but also because that was where he first met his now-wife, Abigail (SI, '23).

After David graduates from UVA, he will clerk for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and U.S. Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the Middle District of Florida.

Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.