QU Presents John Evans Award & Dedicates Center for Legal Studies

Quincy University Presents the John Evans Award to the Honorable Mark A. Drummond
and Dedicates Center for Legal Studies. 

Quincy University presented the 2017 John Evans Award to the Honorable Mark A. Drummond at a luncheon on Friday, April 28th in the University’s Center for Legal Studies. This award is named in memory of John Evans, associate professor of political science, for his dedication to students and Quincy University. The award is given annually to organizations or individuals outside the University who contribute to the intellectual and personal development of students participating in the pre-law concentration. Past winners include Atty. James Palmer, the Adams Co. Bar Assoc., Hon. Mark Schuering, the Adams Co. State’s Attorney’s Office, Atty. Bill Harte, and former ASA Judy Abbott. All recipients of this award have given their time, talent and treasure and have helped make QU’s pre-law and mock trial programs successful.

The Honorable Mark A. Drummond is a Circuit Judge for the 8th Judicial Circuit of Illinois. He was a trial lawyer for 20 years before taking the bench in 1999. His current call consists exclusively of jury and bench trials. He has been an instructor with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) since 1986. He has taught trial advocacy skills for both large and small firms, corporations, the United Nations, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Attorney General’s offices for Illinois and New York and the Department of the Navy.

He received the Hon. Robert E. Keeton Faculty Award from NITA in 2008. He has served as program director for the NITA Teacher Training in New York City and was one of four NITA instructors chosen for NITA’s Teacher Training videos. He is the author of The Eight Keys to the Art of Persuasion, his one-day trial advocacy program. He writes the Practice Points column for Litigation News for the Section of Litigation of the ABA. He is the author of Practice Points for Trial Lawyers: A View from Both Sides of the Bench.

In addition to the John Evans Award presentation, Quincy University formally dedicated the Center for Legal Studies in Friars Hall. The center was developed to promote the scholarly pursuits of students interested in the legal profession and includes the John “Pete” Brown Courtroom, classrooms, conference rooms, a computer lab and a law library. From questioning a witness in a mock trial to analyzing evidence with state-of-the-art forensic technology to investigating a staged crime scene, the Center for Legal Studies has the tools for success in criminal justice. Courses and practica focusing on constitutional, civil, international and criminal legal issues, prepare students for advanced study in law school. Others are positioned to serve in law enforcement, security, investigations, forensic psychology, criminal profiling or court reporting. A 3 + 3 partnership with Saint Louis University School of Law allows pre-law students to earn a bachelor’s degree from QU and a Juris Doctor degree from SLU LAW through a six-year program.

“The Center for Legal Studies provides an integrated venue for our students who are preparing for law school, graduate school or careers in law enforcement. It offers these students a place to study together and to make connections with upper classmen who will help guide them,” said Dr. Brian Borlas, professor of political science. “This center offers classroom experiences in Trial Advocacy, Legal Research and Writing, prelaw supporting courses, as well as a computer lab where they can access legal data base software. This integrated venue will serve to attract students who show an interest in all areas of the law and law enforcement and will help us to identify those students earlier in their college experience.”