About

We’re here to give every mock trial team the techniques and confidence it needs to succeed, no matter what it has in terms of time and resources. We break down trial concepts and give educators the guidance they need to help their teams shine.

Who This Website is For:

Teachers and Educators

Looking for clarity on how to lead your mock trial team to its best performance yet? We’re here to support you, from opening statements, to closing arguments, to everything in between – yes, even objections! Consider us your go-to for step-by-step plans and checklists to demystify the legal stuff and coach your team to success.

Students

Maybe you found this site by doing some extra research and diligently scouring the internet for mock trial tips. Or maybe you tried out for mock trial because you wanted to dramatically say “Objection!” in court, and you just happened to find us. Either way, we’re so happy to have you here. We hope our guides and free resources are helpful. Please feel free to share them with your teachers and the rest of your team!

Why I Do This:

IMG_3669 (1) (1)

I first heard about mock trial when I was a brand-new lawyer. And by “brand-new”, I mean literally I’d been licensed for a month.

A colleague forwarded me an email and she wrote, in capital letters, something like: “THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM. YOU SHOULD VOLUNTEER.” It was an email from the county bar association asking for lawyers to volunteer to be scorers for the county high school mock trial competition.

At this point in my career, I hadn’t yet seen a trial. At all.

I was immediately intrigued, and I jumped at the chance to see a trial from beginning to end – even if it was a trial done by high school students for a made-up case.

At the competition, I was absolutely FLOORED by how amazing these high school students were:
The witnesses were so much fun to watch, and everyone played their roles in a completely believable, real-life way.
The student attorneys were putting on an actual trial – arguing a motion, making an opening statement, calling witnesses, cross-examining them, making objections – EVERYTHING!

They were doing things that I, as a licensed attorney, had not yet done myself. I knew right away that I had to be more involved in this program.

I reached out to the bar association and learned of a nearby school looking for an attorney coach. The teacher coach at this school invited me to their next practice and voila – I was officially a mock trial coach!

That was 13 years ago, and since then, my passion for this program has only grown. I love that sparkle students get in their eyes when the hearsay objection finally clicks for them. Or the glowing pride in the face of a witness after captivating the audience with their performance. I’ve seen so many students gain confidence, learn how to work as a team, and have an absolute blast with this program. It’s been a true pleasure to be a part of it.