Spring 2018 Gavel Final Spring 2018 Gavel | Page 6

SBAND and UND School of Law
Host Student Trial Competition
competitions.
UND School of Law
Trial Team members
Jenna Bergman and
Shaun McNamara
representing the
plaintiff in the
semifinal round of
the competition.
For the first time in the competition’s history,
the regional rounds were held in North Dakota,
with the State Bar Association of North
Dakota (SBAND) and the University of North
Dakota (UND) School of Law co-hosting
the competition. In this three-day event, law
students from schools in seven midwestern
states presented their case before some of North
Dakota’s most experienced trial lawyers and
judges. More than 100 members of the state’s
bench and bar volunteered to help with the
competition, including all of the federal judges
in North Dakota, the entire North Dakota
Supreme Court, and many state district court
judges.
How it all started
By Denitsa Mavrova Heinrich and Julia L. Ernst
In February 2018, trial teams representing 12 law schools from across
the Midwest arrived in Fargo to compete in the regional rounds of
the National Trial Competition.
Considered to be the most prestigious trial competition in the
United States, the National Trial Competition is co-sponsored by the
American College of Trial Lawyers and the Texas Young Lawyers
Association. Its purpose is to “encourage and strengthen students'
advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction
with members of the bench and bar.” 1 Each year, the competition
attracts teams from 140 law schools and more than 1,000 law
students to compete across the country, initially in 14 regional
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THE GAVEL
UND School of Law has been a part of the competition at the
regional level for many years and has twice advanced teams to the
national rounds in Texas. But while the law school and students have
benefited immensely from participating in the competition, the lack
of suitable facilities had prevented the School of Law from hosting
the competition in North Dakota in the past. For the preliminary
rounds, the competition requires the use of 12 courtrooms at the
same time, and with the recently completed renovations to the Cass
County Courthouse, the School of Law knew it now had the space it
needed to accommodate that requirement.
Together with SBAND and American College of Trial Lawyers
Fellow Ron McLean, the School of Law reached out to Presiding
Judge Frank Racek of the East Central Judicial District to request
The University of Minnesota Law School, the
overall champion, competes against the University
of Iowa College of Law in the final round of the
competition, with Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
Judge Ralph R. Erickson presiding.