Drew's mock trial team wraps up another successful season! 

After a semester of hard work, Drew's mock trial team competed against some of San Francisco's best teams. Jim Nickovich has led the mock trial program for three years, creating a team that continues to grow in skill and confidence.

In mock trials, students study cases and roleplay witnesses and attorneys in real-life courtrooms, honing their critical thinking, public speaking, and legal reasoning skills. After months of rigorous after-school practices and competitive scrimmages, the team entered the courtroom in January prepared and ready to win. The mock trial also allowed students to take on leadership roles. The two team captains, Max B. ‘25 and  Madeleine S. ‘25, led the team to success. Max explains the honor and responsibility that came with this role of leading the team: “Overseeing a dozen students as a student myself for four months was quite an undertaking. The role of captain was quite stressful before trials and important scrimmages, but during our performances, it was great to see how far each team member had come. Having the opportunity to help guide the team in its best year yet, it has been an amazing experience and was worth every second of extra work. I had a great time working with Jim, Madeleine, and the rest of the team and hope to see Drew Mock Trial go even further once I leave.” Thanks to the team captain's hard work, this season was filled with milestones. Team captain Madeleine sees “this season as a huge success, especially when considering the progress we made from this year to last year. Last year, we hardly beat a less strong team, and this year we were going toe-to-toe with teams like SOTA and Lowell (the strongest teams in the year). Also the amount of participation and enthusiasm that we got from students was incredible. Taking a leadership role was difficult for me, but ultimately I enjoyed it a lot. I liked working with Max, and having the ability to help other teammates grow. Ultimately, I still feel as though it is 100% a team sport, and the progress that we made should be attributed to the team as a whole.” Thanks to the two team captains, the team achieved victories against schools known to be among the best in the county, demonstrating their growing strength and teamwork. For the first time in program history, they reached the semi-finals, showing their dedication and preparation. Along the way, students sharpened their abilities to craft compelling arguments, think on their feet, and confidently present their cases before actual judges and attorneys.

From practicing in classrooms to performing in the courtroom, the team's hard work has paid off. Their success this season sets the stage for even more extraordinary accomplishments in the future as they continue to build upon their achievements. Their coach, Jim Nickovich, sees a bright future for the team and is so proud of the work they completed: “Our third year was by far our best yet. I loved seeing the enthusiasm and commitment of our students and enjoyed working with them on challenging elements of the practice, like case strategy and evidentiary objections. We graduate many strong seniors this year, but they have left our program in great shape, including institutionalized roadmaps for working up a case and setting positive cultural norms around effort, etiquette, and collaboration. I have no reason to think we cannot achieve even more next year and look forward to continuing to see the program grow and mature.”

You can now find the Mock Trial Team practicing their debating skills and gearing up for next year's season during their EE time. We can't wait to see what the team brings next year. Big congratulations to all the members of the teams and coaches!