MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Erica Green,  (865) 525-5134

Knoxville Bar Association Barristers announce High School Mock Trial Competition

KNOXVILLE, TN January 21, 2020 - The Barrister’s, the Young Lawyer’s Division of the Knoxville Bar Association, annually hosts the Regional High School Mock Trial Competition for Districts 2, 3, and 4* every February.  With high school budget cuts around the country increasing, and available funding for civic engagement decreasing, Mock Trial is an excellent way for High School students in the aforementioned districts to develop a fuller understanding of our justice system and experience the legal process first hand. Many students have been known to choose a legal career based on their mock trial experiences, and several Barrister’s members are formal mock trial competitors. 

During the Regional High School Mock Trial competition, students will act as lawyers and witnesses, as both the prosecution and the defense, and act out a - well - mock trial.  This years’ case is a civil matter that involves "fowl" play between two restaurants and a debate over who can claim to be the king of the chicken sandwich.

This year’s Knoxville Regional competition will take place at the Knoxville City County Building on February 21st and February 22nd. The final round will take place on February 23rd at the Duncan School of Law at LMU. 

The specific times are as follows:

ROUND ONE - Friday February 21st, 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
ROUND TWO - Saturday February 22nd,  8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
ROUND THREE – Saturday, February 22nd, 10:30 a.m. - 1p.m.
ROUND FOUR - Saturday, February 22nd , 1:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
FINAL ROUND - Sunday February 23rd [TBD]

The winners of the competition will advance to the State-wide tournament in Nashville March 20-21. 

The dedicated volunteers, including East Tennessee law school students, attorneys, and judges, serve as the bailiffs, scoring judges, and presiding judges over this wonderful annual competition. The competition is free to students to enter; their coaches simply need to fill out the rosters and coordinating forms and submit them to knoxhsmt@gmail.com.

Participation in this wonderful program is not as high as it once was, and as young lawyers, we want to do everything we can to get the word out about this unique, beneficial, and all-around fun opportunity for our East Tennessee high school students.

*Districts include: 

District 2: Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Fentress, Grainger, Jefferson, Scott, Sevier and Union 

District 3: Knox

District 4: Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea and Roane 

For more information about the Barristers, please contact Barristers President Allison Jackson at (865) 546-0500 or Marsha S. Watson, Executive Director of the Knoxville Bar Association at (865) 522-6522.

Click here to volunteer for the 2020 Mock Trial Competition.