MoBar YLS leaders seek volunteers for mock trial competition
The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section is seeking volunteers to help with judging and scoring schools competing in the regional rounds and state finals of the Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition.
Established by The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition is split into three regions – Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield. During the competition, students prepare for mock trials and argue their cases in front of volunteers, serving as trial judges. Those volunteering as jurors or scoring judges provide overall trial scores for each team, and the schools with the best scores advance from the preliminary rounds to regionals to state finals.
“The creativity, confidence, and professionalism of the students participating in the event never ceases to amaze me,” said lawyer Cody R. Weyhofen, who volunteers as a competition judge. “Whether it be the student-lawyers or their volunteer witnesses, you can immediately tell they put a lot of hard work into preparing for the event.”
Several schools competed in the preliminary rounds last month and will continue to this week, with a handful of schools progressing to regionals. Kansas City regionals will be Feb. 21 and 23. Springfield regionals are set for Feb. 25. The St. Louis regionals will be March 7 and 9. The state finals will be held March 31 through April 2 at the Jackson County Courthouse in Independence.
The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section is sponsoring the Kansas City region’s high school mock trials and is asking those interested to volunteer as trial judges and/or scoring judges in the upcoming Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition regionals and state finals. Those interested in volunteering can follow the information below to sign up:
- For the Kansas City regionals, click here.
- For the St. Louis regionals, click here.
- For the Ozarks regionals in Springfield, email info@springfieldbar.com.
- For the state finals in Kansas City, email info@lakc.net.
Weyhofen, a YLS member, said the event is one of his favorites to volunteer for because of the opportunities and lessons it offers high school students.
“Getting hands-on experience with events like the Mock Trial Competition is something you can’t learn in a textbook, so these students are setting themselves up for success if they want to practice law as a career,” Weyhofen said.