SKILLS BOARDS

2006 Cohen & Cohen Mock Trial Competition Off to a Great Start

Cohen & Cohen Mock Trial Finals
Thursday, November 9, 2006
2:30 p.m.
Jacob Burns Moot Court Room

October 30, 2006 -- A record number of competitors signed up to compete in the preliminary rounds of the Fourth Annual Cohen & Cohen Mock Trial Competition held October 28-29 at the D.C. Federal Courthouse. Fifty-six competitors began the competition, eight teams advanced to the quarter-finals, and four teams went on to the semi-final rounds which took place on Sunday at the Law School.

This year, the finals will feature the 2Ls vs. the 3Ls: Aaron Gregory and Tanja Olano (2Ls) vs. Nicole Herter and Jordi de Llano (3Ls). The final round of the competition, which will feature United States District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina as the presiding judge, will be held on Thursday, November 9 at 2:30 p.m. in the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room.

Since 2003, Cohen & Cohen, PC has sponsored this skills board competition. Founder Wayne Cohen is also an adjunct professor at GW Law. "This is a great opportunity for the students to compete and to better their trial skills," Cohen said. The firm's kind generosity of $25,000 will carry the competition through the 2007 season.

Free tickets are available in the Student Affairs office between 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. on a first come, first served basis with one ticket per person. Due to the generosity of Wayne Cohen, all ticketed attendees are eligible to win a week-long stay at the condo of the Capital Reporting Company in Park City, Utah, which sleeps 6-8 people (7 days, 6 nights). The lottery will be held at the conclusion of the event and you must be present to win.

This year’s problem centers on the accidental death of 15-month old Barry Vincent. Barry’s family is suing Saturn Industries, the manufacturer of the highchair in which Barry died, for negligence and product liability. The competition is sponsored by Cohen & Cohen, PC, a local law firm in Washington, D.C. and is hosted by GW Law’s Mock Trial Board.

The Mock Trial Board is a student-run honorary society dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in trial advocacy. In addition to internal trial competitions, such as Cohen & Cohen, the board sends representatives from the Law School to numerous interscholastic competitions across the nation.

For more on The George Washington University Mock Trial Board and all of their events and competitions, please visit their website at: http://docs.law.gwu.edu/stdg/mocktrial/

For more on Cohen & Cohen, P.C., please visit their website at: http://www.cohenandcohen.net/

2005 Cohen and Cohen Mock Trial Competition

Judge Patricia Broderick and Judge Michael Rankin, both of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (front), join winners Nicholas Sloey and Cecilia Wagner, sponsors Jill and Wayne Cohen of Cohen & Cohen, P.C., finalist team members Dana Keenholtz and Aram Gavoor, and Mock Trial Vice President of Internal Competition Phara Serle.