This weekend the University of Akron School of Law hosted the regional round of the National Civil Trial Competition. 22 law student teams from Ohio and Michigan competed in the tournament. Over 100 judges and lawyers volunteered their time to serve as judges for each of the five rounds of competition. 150 volunteers served as witnesses for the competition. More than 50 University of Akron law students volunteered to be witnesses.
Three teams from the University of Akron competed in the tournament. The team of Max Hiltner and Joseph Darwal was one of two winners of the competition. They will join a team from the Ohio State University Law School to compete in the national competition in April. The team of Holly Facer, Joshua Rau and Kelsey Carson narrowly missed advancing to the quarter final round. Both teams are coached by University of Akron Law School alumni, Aaron Howell (’06).
Law students Anthony Wise and Kelle Redepenning were the third University of Akron team competing in the regional tournament. They volunteered to compete when another law school withdrew one of its teams. Their team prepared for the competition with less than one week’s notice. Even though they were not allowed to advance in the tournament, they had excellent results in each round.
Please be sure to congratulate all of the advocates when you see them. I also want to thank each of you who assisted with recruiting volunteers or volunteered to be a judge or a witness.