Crivilio, Deligio, LaBarbara, and Reever Top 1L Competition

This past Friday was the Sixth Annual 1L Mock Trial Competition.  After months of preparation the 1Ls finally had the opportunity to show off their skills.  And show off they did.  In playing both an attorney and a witness, not only did the competitors display their skills as advocates, but each demonstrated a high degree of professionalism in the mock courtroom setting.  All of the evaluators were extremely impressed with the performances they witnessed.  It’s great to see future attorneys performing at such high levels in such early stages of their careers.  I personally would like to thank the evaluators and coaches for donating their time to help make this competition possible, as well as the Trial Advocacy Honors Council, Board and its Director, Ron Smith and Associate Director, Sunny MacLachlan.

The following teams took top honors at the competition, as well as some individual standouts:

...by  Jordan Rifkin

I want to take this time to thank and congratulate Jordan Rifkin, the Trial Advocacy Board's 1L Mock Trial Coordinator, on this year's fabulous 1L Competition!  Jordan did an amazing job organizing and administering the competition this past Friday.  The record-setting number of evaluators and the long hours of preparation by all teams shows just how committed Jordan and our first-year students were to making this year’s 1L Competition a success.  Thanks for all your hard work-- we are lucky to have you on the Board!

...by  Danica Werhand, Presiding Barrister

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Capitol City Challenge Review

This past weekend, The John Marshall Law School participated in the inaugural Capitol City Challenge Mock Trial Competition hosted by Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C.  Ten teams from around the country gathered in our nation’s capitol to welcome the new competition and its case involving kidnapping, battery, and unlawful imprisonment.  To make things even more interesting, the competition began with a Challenge Ceremony, where each team’s representative drew a number and challenged another school to compete against them for the first round.  John Marshall was challenged by the team from Temple University, and we accepted electing to put our prosecution’s case first.   Our prosecution team, Vince Coyle and Julia Mezher, put on a great case and kept Temple’s defense team on their toes, winning a majority of the evidentiary arguments and impressing the evaluators as to their substantial grasp of evidentiary issues. 

The second round was the defense team’s turn as Randah Atassi and Jisoo Kim presented their case followed by the defense again in the third round. This time competing against a very well prepared team from University of Connecticut.  The JMLS and University of Connecticut teams were well-matched and were respectful and professional toward each other throughout the trial. Our judge was so impressed and commented that she had never seen a trial run so cordially without sacrificing the level of advocacy on behalf of their respective side. 

In the end, our first round competitors from Temple won the inaugural event but not before the team from John Marshall made an impression on all evaluators and competitors with our advocacy skills and professionalism.  Also a very special thank you to our coaches, Lou Longhitano and Kelly Heaney who put a tremendous amount of time and effort into our preparation. 

...by Jisoo Kim

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The National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition

	Professor Ronald Smith, Director of the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution

This coming weekend is The National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition. The John Marshall Law School and the American Bar Association sponsor this competition. The following teams will be participating in this competition which runs April 2, 2009-April 4, 2009:

• Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
• Barry University, Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law
• George Mason University School of Law
• Georgetown University Law Center
• The George Washington University Law School
• Harvard Law School
• Hofstra University School of Law
• The Honourable Society of King's Inn The University of Houston Law School
• The John Marshall Law School
• University of Maryland School of Law
• Mercer University Law School
• Mississippi College School of Law
• Northern Kentucky University, Salmon P. Chase College of Law
• St. John's University School of Law
• University of San Diego School of Law
• South Texas College of Law
• Tulane University Law School
• West Virginia University School of Law
• William and Mary School of Law

Best of luck to all participating schools!

...by Meredith Shane

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   An Interview With Trial Advocacy And Dispute Resolutions          Honors Board Member - Brandon DeBerry 

Q: Where are you from?

A: I am from Columbus, Ohio .  

Q: What made you choose John Marshall?

A: First, Chicago is the second largest legal market in the country. Second, I knew
         coming into law school that you had to be a good writer and John Marshall has a
         nationally ranked legal writing program. Third, John Marshall has more judges
         and practicing attorneys than any other law school in the city and I thought that
         this would great for networking.  

Q: What is your position on the Board?

A: I am the Alternative Dispute Resolution team coordinator .  

Q: Have you been on a trial team?

A: Yes. I was recently on the AAJ team that placed second in the Midwest
         Regional.  

Q: What is your favorite part of a trial?

A: The uncertainty - everyone goes into a trial having the same facts, yet every
         advocate has a different theory .  

Q: What's your favorite place to eat in Chicago?

A: Nomi at the Park Hyatt .  

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  REMINDER: Board Interviews on April 23rd and 24th

Board interviews will be held on April 23rd and 24th, with signups beginning in Room 411 on April 15th.  We highly encourage all of those who will have successfully completed one semester of Trial Advocacy Honors Council to sign up.  Being a member of the Trial Advocacy Honors  Board is a great way to become involved in litigation and with the school.  The positions available for the upcoming semester are as follows: 

• Presiding Barrister
• Vice Barrister
• 1L Mock Trial Competition Coordinator
• Trial Team Manager
• ADR Team Manager
• Website Coordinator
• Council Liasion and Public Relations
• Events Coordinator. 

Remember if you have any questions, don't hesitate to stop by Room 411 .

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