By Ann W. Parks

(left to right): Finalists Ari Meltzer, Ryan Creighton, Donald Roth and James Murdaco meet in the Supreme Court Institute Moot Court Room for the final round of the William H. Greenhalgh Competition February 7

Students at Georgetown Law are putting in plenty of hours in the courtroom before they’re even admitted to the bar — thanks to the Barristers’ Council’s mock trial, moot court and alternative dispute resolution teams.

Tryouts for the three teams kicked off on January 17 with the first round of the William H. Greenhalgh Competition, Georgetown Law’s intrascholastic mock trial contest. Over one hundred students registered for the competition, and four first-year students — Ari Meltzer, Ryan Creighton, Donald Roth and James Murdaco — advanced to the finals held in the Supreme Court Institute Moot Court Room February 7.

The mock trial, or trial advocacy, division of the Barristers’ Council aims to hone students’ skills at the trial court level. Competitors prepare a case to present to a volunteer judge and jury, and if successful in the Greenhalgh, they are invited to join the school team and go on to compete for Georgetown Law in various national and international events.

“For first-year law students, it is a fantastic opportunity to begin developing skills in oral advocacy,” said Meltzer, who won the Greenhalgh with teammate Ryan Creighton. “As someone who has never participated in mock trial before, it was a challenge to learn argument style, presentation skills and the rules of evidence in less than two months.”

The highlight of the experience, he said, was arguing the mock case in front of Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the attorneys and faculty who served as jurors. As a finalist in the competition, he’ll represent Georgetown at a competition next year — which he’s definitely looking forward to.

“The opportunity to join Barristers’ Council is very exciting,” he said. “It’s a great complement to the classroom education.”

Phenomenal

The Barristers’ Council, which has operated for over 70 years at Georgetown Law, is a student-run organization that provides law students with the opportunity to sharpen their fledgling skills. It boasts some 150 participants and hosts several interscholastic competitions every year in addition to the tryout contests.

“Everyone’s heard of moot court, everyone’s heard of mock trial; they are the classic competitive activities that you can engage in in law school,” says Joseph Gallagher (L’08), the Barristers’ Council’s managing director. “Barristers’ Council is an umbrella organization that encompasses moot court, mock trial and the newer field of alternative dispute resolution. So instead of having each division working alone — and possibly at cross-purposes — we can bring everybody together under a single banner and take advantage of some wonderful synergies of the programs and the law school’s institutional resources.”

Barristers’ Council teams had a phenomenal year during the 2006-2007 season, with two of the moot court teams competing in the London Law Review competition. In moot court, students prepare an appellate brief to present to a panel of judges; there is no jury and there are no witnesses.

“We closed out the final round,” Gallagher said of the London competition. “Both teams in the final round were the two teams that we sent there, which was unheard of.”

And with two teams in the final round, Georgetown obviously had to win.

“Having students go in and compete in these domestic and international competitions, it really gives a face to Georgetown as an institution and the caliber of student that comes out of an education here at Georgetown Law,” notes Karen Lee (L’08), the Barristers’ Council’s executive director. “All of the competitors represent Georgetown well, not only in how we place, but just the professionalism; we’re known as very respectful professionals.”

In the current 2007-2008 season, Georgetown Law’s Frederick Douglass Moot Court teams won first and second place in the Mid-Atlantic NBLSA Competition January 31 to February 2. Georgetown Law students Roy Prather III, Sibongile Mack-Williams, Diamond Hicks and Candace Arthur will now compete in the national competition in March. An alternative dispute resolution team consisting of Brian Corcoran and Henrika Buchanan-Smith took third place — after a dramatic three-way first-place tie-breaker — at the American Bar Association's Regional Negotiation Competition in Wilmington, Delaware, in November. (In alternative dispute resolution, students are judged on negotiation skills, not courtroom skills.)  This enabled them to compete at the ABA National Negotiation Competition in Los Angeles February 8-9.

“It’s a really great opportunity to synthesize everything you’ve learned in law school and really feel … as confident as people who have passed the bar,” Lee said. “Oftentimes participants in competition will get that feedback from real judges or real arbiters, saying, you’re just as well prepared, if not more so, as any lawyer who comes in front of my court or my negotiation.”

Techniques

Barristers’ Council is also a great way for alumni and other practitioners in the area to stay connected with Georgetown Law. Alums serve not only as coaches, but as mentors and resources that team members can turn to when they have substantive questions of law. And Georgetown Law students, in turn, are giving them something to be proud of.

“I keep coming back every year because I find it refreshing to work with students and challenging to teach the skills,” says Jessica Boger (L’04), an attorney at Baker Botts who has been working with Georgetown Law’s alternative dispute resolution team since graduating four years ago. “Not only do the students’ needs and talents change each year, but I regularly review the materials and learn new techniques, which is helpful for my everyday practice.”

For more information on how to get involved, as a student or a mentor/coach, see http://www.law.georgetown.edu/barristers/.