collegiate instructional Trial Advocacy program in the country. USC's program is indeed, the program!

The University of Southern California Mock Trial Team was founded in 2001. That year we set out to establish undergraduate Trial Advocacy training as a priority at USC and to establish USC as a dominant force on the national competitive trial advocacy scene.

We have done both. We have competed in, and placed in, national tournaments every one of our years in existence. For the past four years we have hosted AMTA's largest, and best, regional tournament. At the 2006 AMTA National Championship Tournament we were the top-performing team from the Western Region. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, our AMTA ranking was fourth nationwide. In 2011, we were the only program to send 2 squads to the AMTA National Finals in Des Moines, Iowa from the Western Regional. We currently rank among the nation's best mock trial programs.

Our program has managed to accomplish the successful fusion of competition and academics. Moreover, we harmoniously balance the two. Effective use of technology is a major factor in our success.

We make full use of the latest scientific advances to enhance learning and performance. USC's supercomputer has been ranked the nation's second most powerful computer system in an academic setting.

This enables us to stream encoded trial advocacy practice & teaching videos over the internet to our students on demand at blinding speeds -- seamlessly integrating the latest technology into our instructional repertoire. Additionally, our program has its own stock of digital video cameras available for use by students who desire to practice with them.

We partner with the finest public interest law firms and organizations to arrange opportunities for our students to attend notable trials and actually advocate for real people in administrative law proceedings -- adding to our students’ tremendous head start on law school.

In 2006, we achieved the objective of having 100% of our law school bound graduating seniors from a yearly class receive scholarship offers. We have continued to do it every year since!!! Our program's alumni attend Juris Doctorate programs at institutions such as USC, Columbia, Howard, Harvard, Hastings, NYU, Boalt Hall, Georgetown, Pepperdine, Boston University, Wash. U., Temple, Cornell, Loyola, San Diego, Stetson, Southwestern & UCLA (just to name a few).

Take all of the above, along with the fact that we enjoy an occasional trial scrimmage at Venice Beach (following a friendly game of volleyball), and there you have it -- what we like to call the program!!!

Students are expected to be familiar with trial procedure, courtroom decorum, evidentiary objections and proper examination techniques. Cases alternate yearly between criminal and civil matters. Depending on the nature of the case, Team members learn relevant sections of the Model Penal Code and the Restatement of Torts (Second).

Our program fields four competitive squads of six to eight persons each, per season. During a season, every squad typically attends one away-tournamant, one local invitational tournament and one regional tournament. Thereafter, two squads usually attend national tournaments, out-of-state. All travel and accomodations are graciously sponsored by the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.

In addition to being active competitors, our members are interested in justice -- particularly learning to secure access to justice for those who are traditionally denied it. Accordingly, Team members volunteer with public advocacy projects, observe ground breaking trial proceedings and attend seminars and events in the legal community. We are consistently featured in University News. Read some articles here.

Learn more about our latest endeavors on our News page.

The USC Mock Trial Team is taught and directed by a magnificent cadre of instructors. With the exception of founding Head Coach, Olu K. Orange, all coaches are alumni of the program, or were coached by alumni of the program.

Head Coach - Olu K. Orange, Esq.

While at USC, Mr. Kazemi was awarded the Freeman Foundation's "Explore East Asia: China" Scholarship. He was also awarded awarded USC's Alumni Achievement Scholarship in 2000. After receiving scholarship offers from numerous law schools, Mr. Kazemi enrolled at Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, ranked in the top 5 for trial advocacy in the nation, and the highest ranking in trial advocacy on the west coast.

At Loyola, Mr. Kazemi earned a position on the Byrne Trial Advocacy team, upon which he represented Loyola in 2007 at the National Trial Competition, hosted by the American College of Trial Lawyers. Additionally, Mr. Kazemi participated in both the Trial Advocacy and Advanced Trial Advocacy courses offered at Loyola, earning First Honors (highest grade) in both. During all three years of law school Mr. Kazemi worked with the USC team as an Assistant Coach to the program.

While at USC she was a member of the USC Mock Trial Team, serving as a captain, attorney and portraying various witnesses. Ms. Davidson sat for the July 2011 California Bar examination. She has a passion for criminal prosecution and victims' rights. Ms. Davidson has completed internships at the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office as a law clerk, as well as a victim advocate. Ms. Davidson is committed to justice and will later serve as an attorney with a District Attorney’s Office or the California Attorney General’s Office.

During her time at Public Counsel, Ms. Herz worked closely with attorneys and law students on the Homelessness Prevention Law Project, where she fought to provide justice and services for those who would otherwise not have it. Ms. Herz graduated from USC in May of 2011, with a BA in History and currently works at Milstein Adelman, LLP, a law firm specializing in Construction Defect and Class Action litigation. Ms. Herz will start her Juris Doctorate program in the Fall of 2012.

In 2011, Macris was an All-Regional Attorney, an All-Opening-Round-Championship Witness, and the recipient of USC Mock Trial's Samuel L. Leibowitz award, an award presented to the best graduating advocate.