Santa Clara Law had the honor of hosting the Regional Mock Trial Competition on behalf of the Texas Young Lawyers Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers. Student advocates tried the case of Taylor v. Big City Electric where the plaintiff, Mrs. Kelly Taylor, sued Big City Electric for the wrongful death of her husband – alleging that Big City Electric’s negligent installation and maintenance of their power lines caused the fire.
Eleven different law schools from the region participated in this year’s competition. A total of twenty-two teams competed in mock trials over the course of three days with an additional day allotted for the semi-finals and final rounds. Each day, eleven simultaneous zoom trials were conducted with over forty-four student advocates, forty-four volunteer witnesses, and thirty-three judges participating. Friends and family of the participants often joined these break-out rooms to watch, learn, and provide support. The student advocates showcased their ability to perform and persuade in the virtual space.
Student advocates masterfully crafted their trial themes and arguments in front of esteemed lawyers and judges. While our local bench and bar stepped up to provide significant support for this event, attorney and judges came from all over the West Coast and even from as far as Washington D.C. participated. Over 120 trial attorneys and judges were assigned to three judge panels to evaluate and score the performance of the advocates in their virtual courtroom. Many SCU law alum, especially those who live outside of the bay area, jumped at the opportunity to return to SCU virtually for the event. One alum acknowledged how nice it was to catch up with SCU professors and that it “ reminded [him] that SCU still feels home even after all these years”. Others were reminded of their own trial team experiences from when they attended Santa Clara Law.
The judges were able to provide student advocates feedback they could incorporate into the next round and so continue to improve. After five fiery rounds, teams from UC Hastings and UC Berkeley reigned victorious and will now move on to the national competition in March. Congratulations to those teams!
While SCU did not advance, every student had a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hone in on their trial advocacy craft in front of veteran judges and trial attorneys. Santa Clara Law sincerely thanks and congratulates the SCU Trial Team, coaches, volunteer judges, and student volunteers for all of the hard work they put into the competition.
