Penn State Dickinson's National Trial Moot Court Team Wins Regional Championship

Carlisle, PA (February 20, 2007) — Penn State's Dickinson School of Law National Trial Moot Court Team was victorious at the Region XII Championship held February 9-11 at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia. This is the second regional championship for Dickinson in the past three years.

Two Dickinson teams traveled to Philadelphia to compete against Temple , Duquesne, Widener-Delaware, Widener-Harrisburg, Villanova, Penn and Rutgers. The championship team of all third-year students included captain Tammi Snyder, Katie Maxwell and Ryan Becker. The second team consisted of captain Angel Papay, Matt Connaughton and Katie Curiel.

“Our success the past few years reflects positively on the caliber of our students, quality of our faculty and dedication of our alumni. It has been my privilege to work with all of these individuals,” said team coach Hubert Gilroy, a 1979 Dickinson School of Law alumnus and a partner with the Carlisle law firm of Martson Deardorff Williams Otto Gilroy & Faller.

A total of sixteen teams competed in the three-day competition, during which competitors were required to try both the defense and prosecution sides of the case.

“We employ a true team concept in training for the competition with all six students working together and contributing in planning strategy and trial tactics,” said Gilroy. “My view is that this joint effort authorizes all six students the ability take satisfaction in bringing the Regional Championship to Carlisle.”

The winning team will travel to Houston, TX on Marsh 28 to compete for the National Trial Championship against 25 teams from 13 other regional contests. Two champions from each region advance to Houston, and this year Temple claimed the other spot as Regional XII Champion.

“The entire process was one of the most valuable learning experiences I have had in law school,” said Ryan Becker. “To have the chance to get in front of a judge and a jury and to advocate for your client gives you an adrenaline rush that stays with you for a long time. Our entire team, from our coach, Hubert Gilroy, all the way down, worked hard to put ourselves in a position to succeed in Philadelphia,” said Becker.

Snyder, who was awarded Best Advocate in the final round, added, “ As a team, we dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort into making this happen and we feel fortunate to have had the experience. We are thrilled to have excelled as advocates and are so happy that we could bring home a win for ourselves and our school. We look forward to continuing our success in Houston.”

The National Trial Competition 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 program is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. The National Trial Competition is sponsored by the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA). TYLA's intent is to provide a meaningful contribution to the development of future trial lawyers.

For additional information on the National Trial Competition and TYLA, visit www.tyla.org/about_us.html.