by: Ken Gormley, Dean and Professor of Law
We’re pleased to announce that Duquesne University School of Law has decisively won the AAJ Regional Mock Trial Competition this weekend. To get to the championship round, each finalist had to out-score 14 other teams, including Drexel, Penn State, Rutgers, University of Oklahoma, University of Pittsburgh, Tulsa, West Virginia University, and Widener.
The team comprised of Autumn Pividori, Alex Poorman, Kathleen Shoaff and Andrew Rothey defeated the University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and Rutgers School of Law in the preliminary rounds. The team defeated the number one seed, Penn State, in the semifinals on the way to the Championship.
Aubrey Smith, Asra Hashmi, Nicholas Jimenez and Kara Lattanzio defeated the University of Oklahoma, Penn State University and Widener Law School in the preliminary rounds and entered the semifinals as the two seed. They defeated Drexel University, an emerging trial advocacy powerhouse, to get into the championship round.
And so we found ourselves in a Duquesne v. Duquesne final. After almost three hours of grueling competition and zealous advocacy, the team of Autumn Pividori, Alex Poorman, Kathleen Shoaff and Andrew Rothey emerged victorious.
We are truly proud of the knowledge, skill and talent displayed by our advocates in the courtroom during the competition. We are even more proud of the professional and ethical way they conducted themselves among their peers and in front of Pittsburgh’s legal community.
Congratulations to both teams, as well as to coaches Lisa Barnett and Brock McCandless, and to the program’s Director, Professor Amelia Joiner, and Director Emeritus, Professor Mike Streib. Our team will now compete in the Nationals, which will be held in Santa Monica, CA, April 10-13, 2014. This is another great victory for Duquesne University School of Law!
