Courtroom victory for Mock Trial Club

When Victoria Ventura discovered that Waterloo didn’t have a Mock Trial Club, she decided to start her own. Having done mock trials in high school, she knew how valuable an experience they were. “Since our BA degrees are more focused on the theoretical side of law and society, mock trials are the best way to get practical law experience and apply some of the concepts you've learned in class,” says Ventura, now a third-year Legal Studies student.

Mock trials simulate real-life court proceedings, where participants act as lawyers and witnesses to present a case. Working with pre-determined facts and statements, a team will represent either the Crown or Defense through opening statements, witness examinations and closing arguments. At competitions, teams typically have two to three weeks to prepare their case, and their performance is scored by a judge.

This past summer, with support from the Arts Endowment Fund, the Mock Trial Club won their first championship at the Ontario Mock Trial Association’s (OMTA) summer tournament. “It was right around our one-year anniversary as a club. It's not often teams climb the ranks so quickly,” Ventura comments, “but the students in this club truly impress me term after term.”

After participating in many intercollegiate tournaments across Ontario and finishing shy of a trophy more than once, the team was thrilled to hear they had finally won. “Something I’ve learned through mock trialing is you only really get better through your losses,” says Noah Desario, who co-captained the OMTA tournament alongside Ventura.

“That's the mentality that mock trial brings – that losing is a part of life, and if you're not losing, you're not growing.”

Desario joined the Mock Trial Club last fall hoping to improve his public speaking skills and boost his resume, but he quickly discovered the club had much more to offer. In addition to learning about legal concepts, legal writing and case work, he found a community of like-minded peers who challenged and encouraged him. “Leading up to tournaments, there’s rigorous editing of your team's case, which pushes you to learn how to accept criticism,” he says. “It’s made the club an extremely safe place because my bad ideas are just as useful as my good ideas.” He also notes that attending tournaments is a great way to learn from and make connections with students from other schools as well as practicing lawyers, judges and legal professionals.

“Our team believes that winning OMTA has put us on the map,” adds Desario. “This is great because the club is beginning to grow, but more importantly students get to develop the same skills I’ve been exposed to.” With a recreational and competitive league as well as training sessions and workshops throughout the term, there are lots of beginner-friendly options for those looking to join the Mock Trial Club.

The biggest piece of advice the team offers is to put yourself out there because you never know the impact it will have. “Mock Trial is what caused me to pivot from a STEM degree to an Arts one, helped me land my first co-op and introduced me to some of my closest friends,” Ventura says. “I cannot recommend it enough.”