Tag: mock trial

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Judge High School Mock Trial in Philly or Online: FREE CLEs

INVITATION

Judge High School Mock Trial in Philly or Online: FREE CLEs

The Ask

On behalf of 500+ incredible high school students, including Brooklyn Tech and Central Islip HS, Empire Mock Trial is excited to invite you to volunteer as a judge or juror at one of two prestigious international mock trial competitions:

  • Empire Philly: The Constitution Classic on 9/28 or 9/29 at the Center for Criminal Justice (1301 Filbert St, Philadelphia, PA)
  • Empire Online on 10/17-10/20 online

Not only does Empire Mock Trial offer great perks for volunteering (free CLE, free meals, networking) and a great mission (investing in young people), but the case is also really interesting: it involves a public official, an informant, and a perjury charge. 

**No experience is required as both capable judges (i.e. trial lawyers) and jurors (i.e. non-trial lawyers) are needed**

About Empire Mock Trial 

The program is run by Empire Mock Trial, a nonprofit founded in NYC that has impacted more than 10,000 students over the past decade through its mock trial competitions. Having previously hosted competitions in five (5) states and two (2) countries, this is the organization’s inaugural program in Philadelphia. Their founder started the nonprofit in 2007 and held competitions in New York for 14 years consecutively before the pandemic. 

How to Help

You can support their students by (1) signing up to serve as a judge or juror, or (2) by sharing our information with colleagues, a bar association, or on social media. 

CLEs

There are great opportunities to earn CLE:

  • Philly – (1) ethics credit before each round by attending workshop (descriptions here) and (3) non-transitional skills credits for judging (capped a three credits)
  • Online – (3) non-transitional skills credits for judging (capped a three credits)


Mock Trial Judge Perspective: New York born
Over the last three years, Cook County Circuit Court (IL) Judge James Shapiro has volunteered with Empire Mock Trial and had this to say about his experience: 

“Before Empire, I had never judged a high school mock trial competition. Quite frankly, I was a little skeptical as to how good they could possibly be at the high school level. I am no longer a skeptic. These high school kids are better at trial advocacy than many lawyers I see. The competition is run in an extraordinarily professional manner. Empire has it organized down to a science. I had no idea this could be possible at the high school level… I heartily recommend participation as a judge in this competition. You will be blown away by the quality of much of the trial advocacy.”

Contact Empire Mock Trial

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. They can be reached at 646-481-2332 or simply email [email protected]

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Empire Mock Trial Seeks 20 Volunteers to Serve as Judges / Jurors for a High School Mock Trial Program on May 20th and 21st

AABANY members are invited to volunteer to serve as judgers and jurors for the High School Mock Trial Program, scheduled for May 20th and 21st. Volunteers can earn three (3) CLE credits in the category of skills.

The upcoming Empire Mock Trial program brings together 600 remarkable high school students from 23 states for a national mock trial competition. Not only is the experience enjoyable because the students are talented, but the case is topical and interesting: it is an original fact pattern inspired by the Alec Baldwin shooting on the Rust movie set.

  • Trials take place at 10 AM and 3 PM on Saturday (5/20) and Sunday (5/21);
  • Lawyers don’t need to leave the comfort of their own home (or office) because the trials are all online;
  • If a lawyer signs-up with a friend, we can ensure that they judge together;
  • To register, send an email to [email protected] with the following information:
    • Your name
    • Trial(s) that you’d like to volunteer for:
    • Saturday AM (5/20), Saturday PM (5/20), Sunday AM (5/21), Sunday PM (5/21)
    • Role preference: judge, juror, either
    • Relevant litigation or mock trial experience
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Volunteer to be a Judge with Empire Mock Trial on September 24-27 or October 29-November 1

Empire Mock Trial is a nonprofit that brings together extraordinary high school students. It started as a response to COVID-19 and has grown into a robust online mock trial competition program, accessible to any school with an internet connection. This fall, Empire Mock Trial is bringing together 750 high school students for both online and in-person programs. These remarkable young people need the support of the legal community. 

Volunteer to serve as judges or jurors on September 24-27 or October 29-November 1 in the cloud (attorneys can judge one trial or multiple). Over the past year, they’ve worked hard to develop programs for their students that are fun, safe, and educational. 

Attorneys can learn more about the competitions and sign-up to judge here

The format of each trial depends on which competition an attorney signs-up to judge. Here is a description of each:

  • Empire Orbit on September 24-27 – students compete from separate devices (i.e. you’ll see 12-14 students separately connect to your virtual courtroom); 
  • Empire Galaxy on October 29-November 1 – one mock trial team assembles in one room to compete against another team (i.e. you’ll see only 2 teams separately connect to your virtual courtroom);
  • Note: Empire Mock Trial has previously hosted in-person competitions in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Attorneys can earn up to 3 CLE credits for judging. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Empire Mock Trial’s Executive Director, Justin Matarrese via phone: 646.481.2332 or email: [email protected].

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Volunteer to be a Judge with Empire Mock Trial

Empire Mock Trial is a nonprofit that brings together extraordinary high school students from across the U.S. plus 6 countries. Over the past 6 months, the nonprofit has worked hard to plan a mock trial program for them that is fun, safe, and educational during the age of COVID-19 — this fall, it is finally happening.

Volunteer to judge a mock trial on October 28-31 or November 14-16 (attorneys can judge one trial or multiple). All trials will be held online via Zoom. For most of the students, this is the first time they’ve been able to participate in mock trial in 2020, with COVID having canceled their last season. 

Attorneys can learn more about the competitions and sign-up to judge here

The format of each trial depends on which competition you sign-up to judge. Here is a description of each:

  • Empire @ Home on October (28-31) –  students compete from the comfort of their own homes (i.e. you’ll see 12-14 students separately connect to your virtual courtroom). It’s called ‘Empire Chicago’ because we are hosting Chicago themed events for the kids;
  • Empire One (November 14-16) – one mock trial team assembles in one room to compete against another team (i.e. you’ll see only 2 teams separately connect to your virtual courtroom). It’s called ‘Empire New York’ because we are hosting New York themed events for the kids.

Attorneys can earn up to 3 CLE credits for judging. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Empire Mock Trial via phone or email on their website.

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Mock Trial (MT) | Justice Resource Center NYC

Mock Trial (MT) | Justice Resource Center NYC

The Justice Resource Center is reaching out to attorneys with an opportunity to work with high school students and attorneys practicing for at least 2 years can earn some CLE credits while doing so.  

The NY State Bar Association conducts a statewide mock trial
competition each year.  Within NYC, the competition is organized by the
Justice Resource Center.  

Five high schools in the Bronx and Queens are
in need of attorney coaches.  All of the
schools have competed in the past, but for various reasons their
coaches have not returned this year.  Some of the schools would allow
their students to travel to the attorney’s office for after-school
practices.

You can view this year’s problem at the
JRC website.  The competition trials, which are held in the early
evenings in federal and state courtrooms, begin the last week of
February. If you’d like more information about the program, please
contact Carolyn Morway, Civic Education Coordinator, Justice Resource at  [email protected] or call 212-580-5905.

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From the Empire Mock Trial Association: 8th Annual Downtown Mock Trial Tournament

Earn 3 free CLE credits while educating top collegiate mock trial competitors! 

The nonprofit Empire Mock Trial Association (“EMTA”), in conjunction with NYU Mock trial, is pleased to invite you to our eighth annual Downtown Invitational mock trial tournament on January 25-27 at Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn. Each year the Downtown brings together sixteen of the top collegiate trial advocacy teams. This year’s field includes Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Virginia, and the defending national champion, Florida State University.

You can help teach talented, motivated college students about the law by volunteering just a few hours of your time. In exchange, we’ll provide you with free non-transitional CLE credits in the category of skills. 

I’ve included general information about the event below, and you can register to judge here:  http://www.empiremocktrial.org/site/judge.  
  • Features four preliminary rounds of competition, and you can judge as many or as few as you like—no litigation experience is required
  • Please free to invite a friend or colleague to co-judge with you at the tournament.  We’ll pair you together!
  • 16 top trial advocacy teams will compete including Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Virginia, and defending national champion Florida State University
  • We’ll serve complimentary food and beverages as a token of our appreciation
  • Registering takes less than a minute – just visit our site
We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.  Feel free to call (917-426-EMTA) or e-mail us ([email protected])
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Volunteer to Judge Mock Trial and Get 3 CLE Credits

Earn 3 CLE credits – for FREE – while educating aspiring young attorneys about the law!

The Empire Mock Trial Association (“EMTA”) – a NYC based 501 ©(3) not-for-profit organization – is pleased to invite you to its sixth annual international mock trial tournament: the Empire City Invitational.  You can help teach talented, motivated high school students about the law by volunteering just a few hours of your time as a judge.

The event will take place on October 27-29 at the Kings County Supreme Court (360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY).  To find out more and register go to  http://www.empiremocktrial.org/site/judge.  

  • Earn 3 CLE credits in the category of skills for participation
  • Please feel free to invite a friend or colleague to co-judge with you at the tournament.
  • EMTA’s participants have hailed from 5 countries (Canada, Ireland, Korea, United Kingdom and the United States) and 26 U.S. states
  • Features four rounds of competition, and you can judge as many or as few as you like—no litigation experience is required
  • Complimentary food and beverages will be served

For more information call (917-426-EMTA) or e-mail [email protected].

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My name is Amelia Clark, and I serve as the tournament director for the Yale Mock Trial Association. It is my pleasure to invite you to join us at the 2012 New Haven Regional Mock Trial Tournament, to be held Saturday and Sunday, February 11th and 12th at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Mock trial is an undergraduate student organization in which competitors from around the nation prepare and present a fictional case to attorney judges such as you. Past judges have reported it to be an engaging and rewarding experience, and are frequently impressed by the level of competition. In fact, many of our past judges choose to return year after year. This tournament, hosted by Yale University, serves as the first round of competition leading to the American Mock Trial Association’s National Championship Tournament, held in April.

Furthermore, as a law-related student organization, we are a certified provider of CLE credits to attorneys in New York and Connecticut. For just a few hours of your time, you would be able to earn 3 CLE credits free of charge. No mock trial experience is necessary. The success of this and all our tournaments depends on the generosity of legal professionals such as yourself who donate their time and energy each year. This year, the rounds will be as follows:

Saturday, February 11th

9:00 am: Complimentary Breakfast
9:45 am: Judge’s meeting
10:30 am – 1:30 pm: Round 1

*Complimentary Lunch after Round 1

2:45 pm: Judge’s meeting
3:30 pm – 6:30 pm: Round 2

Sunday, February 12th

8:00 am: Complimentary Breakfast
8:45 am: Judge’s meeting
9:30 am – 12:30 pm: Round 3

*Complimentary Lunch after Round 3

1:45 pm: Judge’s meeting
2:30 pm – 5:50 pm: Round 4

** We are particularly looking for people who are available to judge on Sunday, as we tend to have far fewer registrations for those rounds. Note that we are only certified to offer 3 CLE credits, even to those judges who choose to judge in multiple rounds. However, we do encourage judging multiple rounds, and in the past, many of our judges have chosen to evaluate both rounds in a given day.

To register, please fill out the form located on our website, http://www.yale.edu/mocktrial/judges.html. Upon registration, you will receive more information regarding event logistics.

If you have questions not answered on our website, please do not hesitate to contact me! Feel free to forward this information to any interested colleagues. The Yale Mock Trial Association depends on the generosity of volunteers like you for the success of this event, and we would greatly appreciate any help you could provide.

Thank you!

Amelia Clark

Yale University ‘14

Tournament Director

[email protected]

347-782-6546

Yale Mock Trial Association

PO Box 200440

New Haven, CT 06520

www.yale.edu/mocktrial

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