This past weekend in Orlando, the FIU Law Trial Team advanced to the final four in the Hon. E. Earle Zehmer Memorial Mock Trial Competition. The competition was sponsored by the Florida Justice Association.
J.P. Bado, Jeff Mackowski, Andrew Sholtes and Alexander White were victorious over the University of Miami and Nova Southeastern University. In the semi-final round they were edged out by St. Thomas University. J.P. Bado and Alexander White received added recognition when they were both were selected as Outstanding Advocates during the preliminary rounds.
FIU Law’s second squad composed of Chris Boran, James Dougherty, Brandon Smith and Erik Zorrilla also competed and showcased FIU Law’s special brand of passionate principled advocacy.
The teams trained for more than two months – including all day every Saturday and Sunday – to achieve these great results.
Led by Trial Advocacy Program founding Director H.T. Smith, the team was coached by Trial Team and FIU Law alumni David Baroff ‘08 and Igor Hernandez ‘13. Special thanks to Third District Court of Appeal Judge and Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy Kevin Emas and Antonio Valiente, Esq., for presiding over the two dress rehearsal trials that helped to prepare the teams for the competition atmosphere.
PHOTO CAPTION:
From left to right: Erik Zorrilla, James Doughterty, Alexander White, Jeff Mackowski, Andrew Sholtes, J.P. Bado, Chris Boran and Brandon Smith.