Admission

Each year, Empire Mock Trial strives to create the most competitive and geographically diverse field of students who share our values of civility and professionalism.

To qualify for the Empire, schools must place in the top five of their state or country’s mock trial competition in the given year. Exceptions have been made, however for teams that are prior state or national champions or those who have enjoyed consistent success in their state competition. EMTA extends invitations to apply in the late spring months, after the completion of the mock trial season in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The application process is brief, but focused. We ask a representative from each school, generally an attorney or teacher coach, to outline their team’s competitive history over the past four years and then answer three short-answer questions. The last portion of the application consists of two student surveys. Student input is particularly important to the EMTA staff, and we ask schools to instruct students to be thorough and candid in their responses.

A school’s in-court ability is easily discerned by reviewing its competitive history. The purpose of the application, however is to provide EMTA with insight about a team’s out of court practices. We wish to learn about school’s traditions, values, motivation for applying to the Empire and relationship with the community. We want to make sure that every team that attends the Empire is a perfect fit.

If you feel that your school meets the qualifications to compete at the Empire, but did not receive an invitation, please contact EMTA. The application process for the 2011 Empire City Invitational is closed.

Our 36 Empire V participants will be announced shortly.