by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America is bringing its Law Student Mock Trial Competition to the Duval County Courthouse Feb. 28-March 2. Sixteen teams from eight universities in Florida and Georgia will attend the event.
“It’s really a wonderful, hands-on experience,” said Jennifer Kolinski Millis, the Southeast regional coordinator for ATLA. “It allows law students to apply all of the things they are learning while in school to the actual practice of law. It also may help a student decide if they want to become a trial attorney or not.”
Students competing in the ATLA sponsored event — they are considered to be the most promising at their schools — will also earn mandatory extracurricular credits.
Millis, a attorney with the Law Offices of W.C. Gentry, participated in the activities when she was studying law at Florida State University. She said the mock trials will include examining and presenting evidence, interviewing witnesses on the stand and making closing arguments.
“You learn so much,” she said. “In fact, it helped me get my first job in the legal field.”
Millis stressed, however, that the competition isn’t always about winning the case, it’s a matter of incorporating witnesses and evidence and, ultimately, using advocacy skills in an attempt to impress the judges of the competition.
“They look at everything,” she said.
Teams compete anonymously so judges will be certain to award points based on the performance, not on a particular school’s reputation.
For each competition, the issue for debate rotates randomly. At this month’s event, students will be trying a case involving an insurance policy dispute. Each team will have an opportunity to try the case from both sides.
The winning team will travel to New Orleans to compete on the national level.
For now, Millis said that they are still looking for legal professionals in the area to help judge the event. Lawyers who participate receive three CLE hours.
“For me, trying a case is the best part of the law,” Millis said. “It’s also a lot of fun.”