Out of 20 teams, CWSL takes first in San Diego Defense Lawyers National Mock Trial Competition

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 27, 2006 –Two firsts, a second, and a sixth; not a bad weekend in the world of national advocacy tournaments. California Western entered two teams into this past weekend’s San Diego Defense Lawyers National Mock Trial Competition and another two in the National Criminal Procedure Appellate Competition.

“I am proud of our bright and motivated student competitors and grateful to their dedicated faculty and adjunct coaches under Mario Conte’s expert leadership,” said Dean Steven R. Smith. “This was a weekend of great achievement for our entire institution.”

California Western entered two teams in the San Diego Defense Lawyers Competition. One team comprised of students Mike Romney, Shannon Kitten, Allan Roth Mackins, and David Skilling took first place. The second team, comprised of students David Silldorf, Molly Hale, Diana King, and Lorenda Stern, took sixth. Among the 20 law schools in attendance, California Western’s teams competed against law schools from Brooklyn, UC Hastings, Pepperdine, and University of San Diego.

“It was a long six weeks of preparation, but it all paid off in the end,” said 2L Allan Roth Mackins. “I will never forget the experience that this competition gave me in the adversarial setting and will always remember that our success was only possible through the hard work of our coaches.”

In the National Criminal Procedure Appellate Competition two of the four competitors from the California Western teams – coached by Professor Justin Brooks – received recognition. Deborah Dixon and Casey Pfahl were awarded first and second place oral advocates respectively, out of 84 competitors.

"It feels great that we achieved so much and all of our hard work and practices paid off,” said 3L Deborah Dixon. “Even though the competition is over, the experiences I gained will be extremely helpful as a practicing attorney and I am ever grateful to our coaches who made this all possible.”

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California Western School of Law is the independent, ABA/AALS-accredited San Diego law school that advances multi-dimensional lawyering by educating lawyers-to-be as creative problem solvers and principled advocates who frame the practice of law as a helping, collaborative profession.  California Western is home to several innovative centers and institutes including the California Innocence Project, the Center for Creative Problem Solving, the Institute of Health Law Studies, and the Institute for Criminal Defense Advocacy.  In addition to a J.D. program, the law school offers several dual degree programs in conjunction with local universities; an LL.M. in Federal Criminal Law; and an M.C.L./LL.M. for foreign law graduates.