Mock Trial

In the intercollegiate mock trial competition, students role play lawyers and witnesses and are judged on their persuasiveness and ability to analyze arguments. Clark team members take LAS 038, Trial Advocacy, for credit in the fall semester. Both the fall class and the spring competition are currently taught by a practicing attorney and trial lawyer, Clark alumnus Steven C. Kennedy '88.

Another great season for Clark University Mock Trial Team

Spring break found the Clark University Mock Trial Team braving a blizzard and earning eighth place at the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) National Tournament in Hamilton, Ohio, March 7-9, 2008.


 

Photo: Clark University Mock Trial team members, from left: Sylvie Lepeltier, Lindsay Gemmell, Nora Feely, Alexis Correia, Sydney Kennedy, Kathryn O'Leary, John Alsup, Ahmed Bhadelia.

"This was quite an accomplishment given the caliber of the teams that were awarded bids to this tournament from across the country," said Steven Kennedy '88, a practicing litigator who teaches and coaches the Mock Trial Team at Clark. "I can't say enough about this dedicated and talented group of students, as they truly rose to the occasion."

The team finished a winning 5-3 season, making it to the national competition after placing seventh among 26 teams at the Yale University Regional Tournament in February.

The AMTA regional tournaments began with over 450 teams from 350 colleges and universities from across the country. Clark was one of only 104 teams that earned a bid to compete in a national tournament, Kennedy said. This year was the highest ranking the Clark Mock Trial Team has attained at a national tournament since the program's inception.

Clark senior Kathryn O'Leary won a Best Witness Award at the national tournament in addition to All Regional Witness Award at the Yale Regional Tournament. Nora Feely, a junior, won the All Regional Attorney Award at the Greater New England Regional tournament at Roger Williams University, also in February. Feely received the third highest score out of the 150 competing students.

Other Clark Mock Trial Team members include Sylvie Lepeltier '11, Lindsay Gemmell '10, Alexis Correia '09, Sydney Kennedy '09, John Alsup '08, and Ahmed Bhadelia '08.

In Mock Trial, teams of students study a single legal case intensively over the course of an academic year, prepare both sides of the case, and act out that case with team members assuming the roles of attorneys and witnesses. Panels of real attorneys and judges decide which teams and individuals made the best presentations.

The Mock Trial Team at Clark is open to any student, not just those planning to attend law school. Clark has hosted the regional competition and its teams often qualify for national competition. The team is part of the University's academic concentration in Law & Society. Students take a course on trial advocacy in fall and then participate on the Mock Trial team in the spring semester.

Clark's Mock Trial teams are supported by the student Prelaw Society, the office of Career Services, the Dean of the College Office, the Harrington Public Affairs Fund, the Epstein Pre-Law Fund, and the Government Department.

The team is open to any student, not just those who aspire to law school. The program is part of Clark's Law and Society program.

Clark hosted the regional competition held in February 2005 and again in February of 2006, and our teams have qualified for national competition in eight of the past ten years. When Clark hosted the regional mock trial tournament, over 100 lawyers came to campus to judge the event.

In 2007, Megan Harwood '07, Katie O'Leary '08, and Alexis Correia '09 all won Best Witness Awards at the regional tournament held in Rhode Island. Clark earned the most "Best Witness" awards of any school in that tournament.