Judge
On January 20-22, 2012, EMTA is teaming up with NYU’s Mock Trial program to host the sixth annual Downtown Invitational Classic. Year after year, attorneys from across the city have been dazzled by the knowledge, skill, creativity and advocacy of our students. They hail from some of the nation’s top universities, including Harvard, Brown and UPenn, among others.
In order for the Downtown to be possible, our students need you to serve as judge, juror and educator. In return for your time and wonderful contribution, we’ll provide you with FREE CLE credits. To sign-up, review the information below and then submit an online judging application.
We thank you for your support of legal education! We could not do this without you.
Judging Information
CLE Credit. Attorneys can earn a maximum of three CLE credits, in the category of skills, for judging at the Downtown. You earn three credits whether you judge one round or all four rounds of competition. Credits are generously provided courtesy of New York University’s School of Law.
Location. The tournament will take place at the Kings County Supreme Court, located at 320 Jay Street in Brooklyn.
Schedule. The tournament consists of four rounds and a championship round. Round times can be found below. Rounds last approximately two and a half hours. Judges are welcome to judge multiple rounds but are certainly not required to do so.
Orientation. Immediately preceding each round, a presentation will be given explaining a judge’s responsibility and the criteria that is used to score the competitors. Judges should report to the courthouse approximately one hour before the round time for orientation.
Preparation. Besides a quick read of the relevant case documents (stipulations, case summary, etc.), little preparation is required. While we can provide the case packet for attorneys to read, we highly recommend judges not read the entire case file prior to the competition.
Complimentary Meals. We’ll provide breakfast and/or lunch for you as a token of our appreciation.
Networking Opportunity. Last year, nearly 200 attorneys volunteered at the Downtown. It will undoubtedly be a terrific opportunity to meet and network with other attorneys from the New York area.
Bring a Friend. If you have a colleague in the legal profession that is interested in judging, please encourage them to register. If you note their name and contact information on the application, we can make sure you judge together.
Register to Judge
Three important things to keep in mind when filling out the following form:
- This is NOT an availability form. When you click the “submit” button, we assume you will be judging the rounds in which you’ve registered. While we appreciate certain individuals’ willingness to help out, please do not register for four rounds if you only plan to judge one. Also, if you register to judge a round but a conflict arises, please e-mail us as soon as possible. We are more than happy to either switch your round or cancel your registration.
- An attorney earns 3 non-transitional CLE credits in the category of skills for judging at the Downtown, regardless of how many rounds he/she judges. So while we hope you judge multiple rounds, New York State law only allows us to offer attorneys 3 CLE credits. Credits are distributed via e-mail 6-8 weeks after the competition.
- You do not need prior judging experience to preside or score at the Downtown, with the exception of the Championship Round. We encourage all attorneys, experienced or not, to get involved. All matters related to judging the competition are covered during orientation.
If you are available, please sign-up below to judge Round 4 on Sunday morning. We are very short judges for that round. Thank you for your help!
