With a 15-year national winning streak, UF mock trial team prepares students for legal careers

When the University of Florida team left the Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Mock Trial Competition last fall, the students thought they had let down 14 years of fellow members. Originally finishing second, the team members learned a week later that a recount had extended their winning streak — which dated back to 2010 — and that, for the 15th straight year, they again took first place at the national competition. Now the team is prepping for a potential 16th win, with an in-house pre-law program at UF that teaches trial advocacy, basic trial skills and legal concepts.

“For that week, it felt like a huge personal failure, and it felt pretty heavy,” said fourth-year political science and criminology major Ahmad Alarachi, the UF team’s director of competitive mock trial. “When it was announced that we had actually won, it was a very big relief.”

The key to the team’s lasting success

Mock trial essentially simulates a lower-court trial, and students take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses to present a fictional legal case. The national mock trial competition — held each fall in Alexandria, Virginia — gives teams from Phi Alpha Delta fraternity pre-law chapters across the country a chance to practice their trial advocacy skills in a courtroom setting. 

Before each year’s event, UF students receive a case packet, and they work to understand the ins and outs of the case and build their persuasive argument. The competition starts with three preliminary rounds, and the teams that win the most ballots in those rounds advance to decide how the top four teams place. Alarachi said the students have learned adaptability from the experience, and the student-led nature of the group has helped the team develop into somewhat of a mock trial dynasty.

“Adaptability is huge, and if your program isn't student-operated, I feel like it is more difficult to be able to make those decisions very quickly,” Alarachi said. “Also, just having a strong network with those former members helps continue that, too. The knowledge never runs dry.”

Josh Kwasnicki, a 2011 UF sociology graduate, joined the UF mock trial team in 2008 and later served as secretary and president. Inspired by his own involvement in other national competitions, Kwasnicki sought to introduce the activity to UF’s Phi Alpha Delta chapter. After discovering that the chapter hosted an annual national competition, he established the university’s first team with two four-person groups. Today, UF has a 24-member team.

Nick Alberto, who graduated from UF with a major in political science and minor in history in 2012 and a juris doctor degree in 2015, was an avid mock trial participant. Now a prosecutor in Fort Myers, Alberto said the whole mock trial team at UF took the endeavor seriously, and that the members also just loved spending time together. UF’s large student body gives the team a deep talent pool, he said.

“We are the flagship university for the state,” Alberto said. “Having that and then having those people that are working so hard at this craft, it can’t be a fluke if you have a dynasty like that.”

Third-year UF business administration management and economics major Amy Bokoum is the team’s in-house director this year, leading the pre-law program.

While she sees what Alberto saw — passion, hard work and strong bonds — an expanded in-house program at UF has helped maintain the team’s success.

“In-house is honestly the foundation of the streak because that's where you learn all of the skills that translate to what you do on the competitive team,” Bokoum said. “That's where you really learn the team part of it and being able to work with others really well.”

The career benefits of competing

UF students are not just on the mock trial team to have fun; it offers long-term benefits for their careers. Bokoum views the network as a resource for her future. Practice judges, primarily alumni, provide the team with invaluable advice about working in law.

“As undergraduate students, we can only access so much information, only teach ourselves so much,” Bokoum said. “A big incentive to join mock trial is to be able to connect with that alumni network and have someone to guide you through that process.”

Stephanie Trobradovic graduated from UF in 2012 with a double major in criminology and psychology, and she returned for law school a year later. Now an attorney focusing on premises liability with the Wilson Elser firm in Orlando, Trobradovic said she felt more prepared for the workforce after her time with the UF mock trial team.

She developed a stronger understanding of how to approach cases, and she deepened her knowledge of objections and the rules of evidence. But interacting with working professionals was one of the most valuable benefits of competing, she said. 

“It was really helpful to hear from people who were working in the field and get different perspectives about the specific fields,” Trobradovic said.

Trobradovic’s current work showcases the benefits of competing in mock trial as an undergraduate student. After the club reconnected with Trobradovic, they asked her to judge an upcoming tournament, which allowed UF team members to look to her as a resource.

And the current mock trial students at UF know they need to keep improving, despite the 15 consecutive years of success. Coming off their tightest win yet, the group refuses to become complacent.

For more information on the UF Phi Alpha Delta mock trial team, click here.