FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2001 CONTACT: Ed Bull, 225-0270 or 771-8788 (cell) Jeff Noble, 286-2159 Lisa Lacher, 271-3119 or 979-9188 (cell) DRAKE LAW STUDENTS FINISH SECOND IN NATION IN MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION IN NEW ORLEANS A Drake Law School mock trial team that defeated a team from Harvard Law School in regional competition went on to finish second in the nation in the Student Trial Advocacy Competition in New Orleans March 22-25. Drake's team lost by a narrow margin to a team from Temple University Law School in the final championship round. "For more than a decade, Drake Law School has been a powerhouse in mock trial regional competition and this year we're demonstrating that we're a national contender as well," said Gregory Sisk, the Richard and Anita Calkins distinguished professor of law at Drake. "Temple has one of the highest ranked trial advocacy programs in the country, so there's no shame in coming in second to Temple." The No. 2 mock trial team in the nation consisted of Ed Bull, a third-year law student from Des Moines; Gary Dickey Jr., a second-year law student from Des Moines; Theodore Simms, a third-year law student from Washington, D.C.; and William Schultz, a second-year law student from Clear Lake, Minn. Both Simms and Schultz also were members of Drake's moot court team that won first place last month in the National Moot Court Tournament. Bull, Dickey, Simms and Schultz were on the first team in Drake Law School history to reach the quarter finals in the Student Trial Advocacy Competition, which is sponsored by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Teams are judged on their skills in case preparation, opening statements, use of facts, the examination of law and expert witnesses and closing arguments. This year's case was a civil suit involving medical malpractice and negligence issues. "We defeated teams from Duquesne, Thomas Jefferson, Tulane, Georgia and SMU before losing to Temple," Bull said. "It's certainly great to be considered one of the country's elite teams in mock trial and trial advocacy. It felt good to be successful for ourselves as well as our coaches who have been spending 15 hours a week coaching us without pay." All three of the coaches are Drake Law School graduates who serve as assistant Polk County attorneys: Chuck Kenville, Jeff Noble and Dan Voogt. "I did mock trial through the American Trial Lawyers Association when I was an undergraduate at Drake," Schultz said. "I came to Drake Law School for a specific reason — to do mock trial and to be coached by Jeff Noble." "We had a group of students who were not only very talented but very hardworking," said Noble, the team's head coach. "It was a banner year in a number of different ways. This was the first time that Drake sent two teams to the nationals, and Drake was one of only two law schools in the country to do that this year. Both William Schultz and Gary Dickey Jr. received perfect scores in one round of competition. While it was disappointing to lose the final round against Temple, the Drake students tried the case with poise and confidence. It was a very close competition." Another Drake team that beat a team from Harvard in the regional competition also advanced to the nationals in New Orleans, defeating teams from Tulane and Duquesne but failing to reach the quarter finals. That team consisted of Michael Richards, a third-year law student from Des Moines; Ryan Tang, a third-year law student from Clive; Holly Schaffter, a second-year law student from Clive; and Dan Rothman, a third-year law student from Des Moines. "Drake was one of only two law schools that had two teams of regional champions to practice against each other in preparation for the national competition," Noble said. "The Drake team that didn't advance to the quarter finals can be credited with some of the success enjoyed by the team that finished second in the nation."