Minnesota Law Mock Trial Team Wins Regional Competition, Advances to Nationals

A Minnesota Law mock trial team recently won the American College of Trial Lawyers/Texas Young Lawyers Association Region 12 mock trial competition. The team will advance to the national competition and will compete against the best trial advocacy programs in the country. 

The ACTL/TYLA National Trial Competition is the largest law school mock trial competition in the nation, attracting teams from more than 140 law schools and involving more than 1,000 law students each year. It was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen students' advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar.  

The winning team members are Josh Dostal, 3L, Tommy Harshaw, 2L, and Olivia Gardiner, 3L. The second team from the Law School also had a very strong showing, achieving 5th place out of 18 teams. Its members are: Bree Crye, 3L, Mitch Dooley, 3L, and Alena Simon, 3L. The teams are coached by Craig Buske ’10, Craig Roen ’87, Jared Reams ’13, and Deanna Thompson ’19. 

This is the fourth time in the past nine years that a Minnesota Law Mock Trial Team has won its regional competition and qualified for nationals.