Strength of conviction

Interested in a career in law? The mock trials competition offers students a chance to experience the cut and thrust of a real courtroom

ST LEO'S COLLEGE in Carlow was the overall winner of the 2008 Public Access Law (PAL) Irish Mock Trials competition.

Since it started a decade ago, the mock trials competition has become one of the most popular team events in Transition Year (TY). As seriously as it is taken though, the Irish trials are in a different league to competitions in the US, where winning can make all the difference to students trying to get into law school.

This didn't phase the girls at St Leo's College who, after triumphing at national level, had their sights firmly set on international glory, having been invited to the 2008 Empire City Mock Trials Invitational in New York City.

At the New York event, the stakes are high. The competition is modelled on similar tournaments at college level and, over three days and four rounds, the competition ends with a championship trial. The judges are actual solicitors and mock juries are made up of American law students. Involvement in such events is an important part of the resumé of any budding American legal eagle.

However, the invitation was just that, so the first hurdle for the St Leo's team to overcome was financing the trip. Thanks to the support of PAL, the school's board of management, the parents' council, and local businesses in Carlow and beyond, the trip was made possible. Even the two teachers who travelled with the students paid for their own flights.

"It couldn't have happened without the support of our principal, Edel Connolly, parents and the generosity of local donors," explains TY coordinator Mary Kyne, who went along with the students.

"They did really well. Prior to leaving they were sent over the case details, affidavits and the rules of the competition. The document was 75 pages long."

IN ORDER TO HELP prepare the students for the challenge ahead, St Leo's were fortunate enough to get assistance from two of their past pupils who are now involved in law. This was truly a community initiative.

"We had to take part in four trials in New York," explains 17-year-old student Alison Hanley.

"The case was the same each time, but we competed against different schools. The trial was about a man who died while attempting to climb Mount Everest. His wife was suing the tour operator who organised the trip for negligence."

Each team had to represent three attorneys and four witnesses - for both the prosecution and the defence - and students assumed different roles in each.

"In one case as prosecution, I was the best friend of the man that died," says Hanley. "It was quite difficult at the start as we found there were quite a few differences between American and Irish law, which we were learning as we went along."

The students came up against schools from Louisiana, Massachusetts, South Korea and Australia and won two out of four trials. After having to get to grips with several new aspects of American law in the first trial, they found their feet in the second and came up trumps in the end.

"Once we understood the legal differences - in terminology, how to give evidence, and objections - we started to improve," says Hanley. "When other teams made mistakes it was also easier for us pick up on them."

Seventeen-year-old Eimear McCormack won an outstanding witness award.

"For two of the cases I assumed the role of the wife suing the company," she says. "There are three judges in each round - two scoring and one presiding. Jury members and judges fill out sheets where they can decide who was their favourite witness, barrister, etc.

"The judges thought I did well in both cases as the role of the wife," she says. "As a witness, it's important to create your own character, or persona. The witness must try to get the jury on their side."

ACTING SKILLS are, in fact, very important in the courtroom. Ciera Doyle (17), who won the award for best speaker in the Irish competition, was barrister for St Leo's.

"The Irish competition was much easier than the American one," she says. "Over there they take it really seriously, the terminology is very different and there's a lot more movement in the courtroom. In the US, barristers walk around the room a lot. So you really need to be able to act out your part."

The students arrived home last month with awards and a well-regarded success rate in court for their first time competing at that level. In fact, they were the first Irish school to take part in the competition.

So having won two out of four trials, two individual awards and another student being highly recommended for an attorney award, all-in-all the parents, teachers, and local businesses who supported the girls got their money's worth.