UA Hosts National Mock Trial Law Tournament

Akron, Ohio, Oct. 22, 1999 — The University of Akron School of Law may soon resemble the magic and excitement of the NCAA Basketball Tournament as the law school hosts the 10th anniversary of National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) Tournament of Champions Oct. 28-30.

More than 60 law students from 16 of the nation's top law schools will compete in a three-day mock trial tournament. In a mock trial, teams of law students argue the merits of a predetermined set of facts, arguing either the plaintiff or defense side of the case.

The students will be evaluated by panels comprised of local attorneys and judges. The final round, on Saturday afternoon, will be judged by Sam Bell, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; Paul G. Perantinides, a partner in the Akron firm of Perantinides and Nolan; and Susan Squire Box, an attorney with the Akron firm of Roetzel & Andress. The mock trials will be held in the Summit County Courthouse, with students using vacant courtrooms made available by county common pleas court judges.

The University of Akron's team consists of Anthony L. Gallia, Pamela J. Holder, Michael A. Steele and Charles R. Shinn. They are coached by law professor Dana Cole. Since 1989, NITA ranks the 16 top law school trial programs in the country based on their past three years of performance in two major trial competitions and invites them to the NITA matches.

Included among the teams competing against Akron will be Northwestern, Syracuse, Temple and Baylor universities, as well as the University of Alabama, the University of Denver and the University of Texas.

The University of Akron's trial team program is ranked second nationally by NITA, and has earned several honors for its preparation and performance. Akron is the only school invited, based on point compilation, to compete in the NITA tournament every year since 1989.

“This competition focuses on training students, under stressful conditions, to think and act as courtroom litigators do in real-life situations,” says Richard L. Aynes, dean of the University's School of Law. “The long line of success demonstrated by our trial teams speaks volumes about the level of instruction our law students receive.”

NITA is a nonprofit institute headquartered at the University of Notre Dame Law School. The Tournament of Champions was created by former UA law professor Charles Kirkwood in 1989, with him inviting the best student trial advocacy training schools in the country to compete directly against each other. NITA began its sponsorship of the tournament in 1995.

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