November 27, 2019 | NewsJurors Needed for 2020 Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition
The Trial Lawyer’s Section is conducting its prestigious 38th annual Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition in Tampa this year. Ten law schools with 2 teams each are expected to be competing at the Tampa Convention Center from January 22rd to the 24th, 2020.
The trials are presided over by state and federal court judges, but they do not determine which team moves on in the competition. Instead, lawyers are needed to sit as scoring jurors to judge each round of the competition and we strive to have five local bar members on each scoring panel. At the end of each round, there will also be an opportunity to provide comments and critiques of the team’s performances that will help prepare these future lawyers for what lies ahead.
It is particularly important that we have as many lawyers as possible for the first two rounds of the competition. Those rounds take place late Wednesday afternoon from 5 to 8 pm on the 22rd and on Thursday morning (the 23rd) from 9 am to noon. As teams are eliminated, our jury pool drops for Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. As a result we need:
50 jurors for Wednesday afternoon (1/22/20) at 5 pm
50 jurors for Thursday morning (1/23/20) at 9 am
25 jurors for Thursday afternoon (1/23/20) at 2 pm
10 jurors for Friday morning (1/24/20) at 9 am
Attending one session entitles you to 9 hours of CLE or Civil Trial Certification credit, although many of our volunteers participate in more than one trial. There is no cost to the jurors for their participation and the level of talent of these young future lawyers are is truly amazing.
On behalf of the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar and the law schools participating, we thank you for your participation. Please register your participation by clicking on the link below and commit for one or more rounds of the competition. In you have any questions, please contact Tom Dart attom.dart@arlaw.com or Jenny Dorminy at jdorminy@floridabar.org.
Sign up for a shift through the link below:
https://thefloridabar-pqvvv.formstack.com/forms/tls_bedell_mock_trial_competition_2020
