December 22, 2008

Cooley Students Advance To National Mock Trial Competitions Semifinals

Thomas M. Cooley Law School mock trial teams recently advanced to the semifinal rounds at the William W. Daniel National Invitational Mock Trial Competition in Atlanta, Ga., and the California Attorney for Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition in Los Angeles, Calif.

The California team included Jessica Harbeson of Haymarket, Va., James Lee of Chicago, Ill., Josh Slater of Davison, Mich., and Scott Goldman of West Bloomfield, Mich. They defeated teams from the Chapman University School of Law and the University of Connecticut School of Law, advancing from 30 teams to the final four teams before being defeated by the University of Wisconsin Law School team in a split decision in a semifinal round.

The Daniel team consisted of Elizabeth Ribby of Holt, Mich., Rachel Madden of Pella, Iowa, Trevor Reaves of Daytona Beach, Fla., and Patrick King of Alton, Ill. In preliminary rounds, Ribby was twice voted best advocate. King also was voted best advocate in another preliminary round, and Reaves was voted best cross examiner. Cooley professors John Scott, Joe Baumann and Vicki Coe worked with the team to prepare them for competition.

The Daniel team defeated students from the Michigan State University College of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law to advance to the semifinals. The team lost a split decision in the semifinal round to a team from the William & Mary Law School.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the country. Founded in 1972, it operates J.D. programs across Michigan in downtown Lansing, Auburn Hills and downtown Grand Rapids. Today, Cooley Law School has nearly 13,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and also offers joint degree and master of laws programs. Cooley offers enrollment three times a year; in January, May and September. Additional information about Cooley can be found at www.cooley.edu.