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]

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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The 2013 NAPABA Northeast Regional/AABANY Fall Conference took place on Saturday, September 21, at the New York offices of Weil Gotshal & Manges. It started with breakfast and registration at 8:00 am. Panel session 1 began at 9:30 am, featuring CLE programs on “Office Politics 101 – How to Win the Popularity Contest at Work,” “Post-Hurricane Sandy: One Year Later and its Impact on the Northeast,” and “The Nexus of IP and Everything Else in the Universe.” The morning session of the Trial Advocacy Program (TAP) began with a lecture.

Panel session 2 followed at 11:00 am with CLE programs on “How to Get Disbarred: Avoiding Ethics Complaints and What to Do if you Can’t,” “Girlfriends: ‘Lean In’ – When, Where and How,” and “Bright Lights, Big Pharma.” TAP breakout sessions took place, allowing participants to engage in actual exercises based on the morning lecture.

At the same time, during the morning session, the In-House Counsel Forum, Judicial Forum, numerous pitch sessions and the AABANY Career Exchange were simultaneously going on. It was a busy morning.