The Nebraska College of Law is hosting the Region 12 National Trial Team Competition Feb. 15-17 at the Lancaster County Courthouse, 575 S. 10 St. The National Trial Competition is co-sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Texas Young Lawyers Association. Its purpose is to encourage law students to develop trial advocacy skills and strengthen those skills through high quality competition.
OLLI members are invited to serve as a witness during the competition. Your participation is vitally important because each mock trial includes four witnesses – two for the plaintiff (who brought the lawsuit) and two for the defendant. A mock trial team consists of two law students, and each student (called a student advocate) is responsible for examining and cross-examining one witness on the witness stand. The four witnesses provide testimony about people, events, and documents in order for the teams to argue the case. Thus, you will be playing a witness in the trial and will take the stand to testify.
Before the mock trial, you will be provided with a deposition (or statement) and may also be provided with some related exhibits. You should read the materials closely several times so that you are familiar with all of the facts. This review will help you answer questions without having to flip through the documents during your testimony.
Available dates and times, as well as an option to register, are located on https://law.unl.edu/node/1353/
Volunteers include students, faculty, staff, family members, etc. The only requirement is that the volunteer be 18 years or older.
If you have any additional questions, contact Katie Pfannenstiel, assistant director of alumni relations & event planning, Nebraska College of Law, UNL, 402-472-8382, kpfannenstiel@unl.edu