University of Wisconsin Law School's mock trial program has finished another successful Spring competition season. 

UW Law sent two teams to the annual TYLA regional competition Feb. 15-18, 2024, in Minnesota. The regional hosts 20 teams from law schools throughout the Midwest. TYLA team #2 — Kinnari Patel, Steven Slack and Anna Eager — was coached by attorney and UW Law alum Morgan Stippel.  Team #2 won two of their four trials and lost the other two trials by two points or fewer. 

TYLA team #1 — Cade Lambrecht, Claudia Drace and Cameron Davies — was coached by attorney and UW Law alum Matthew Van Keulen. Team #1 was one of four that advanced to the final rounds of the regional competition. After a valiant effort, the team lost the chance to advance to the national championship on a 2-3 split ballot, losing by just one point. 

As Van Keulen said, “Our UW students went toe-to-toe with the toughest schools in our mock trial region. Our students' confidence and skill brought us to the final round of the regional competition. Regardless of the outcome, our students should be extremely proud of their fierce competitive spirit and effort.” 

At the Costello competition held in Fairfax, Va., the team of Henry Morris and Kyli Nault, coached by attorney and alum Marisol Gonzales Castillo, advanced to the quarterfinals. Their team was assigned to represent the defense and successfully argued to exclude a key piece of evidence in motions in limine, and several judges noted how the team was so well-prepared.   

Katie Ujdak, Ja’lia Butler, Wes Schmidt and Conrad Long participated in the virtual competition sponsored by the American Association of Justice. The team was coached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Flugaur. Although the team did not advance, the judges commented that they were impressed that our advocates were so professional, engaging and talented. 

The final spring competition was the South Texas Mock trial challenge March 21 to 23. The team included 2L students Jared Bock, Kimberly Bennett, Judith Cusack and Maxwell Schwartz, and was coached by attorney and UW Law alum David Hollander. The team won their first four trials. As a result the team advanced to the octofinals. Although the team lost the next round by just a few points, they didn’t walk away empty-handed. Cusack won an award for best advocate, and the team received a silver plate for advancing to the octofinals.

We are so proud of the students that competed in mock trial this year and thankful for the hard work and effort from both the students and their attorney coaches. 

Submitted by Law School News on May 9, 2024

This article appears in the categories: Features, Students