Karen C. McGovern Senior Prize Trials Competition

McGovern Senior Prize Trials

The Karen C. McGovern Senior Prize Trials Competition provides Albany Law School third-year students an opportunity to develop trial practice skills. The competition runs the length of the school year and offers practice in both civil and criminal advocacy. The fall semester problem focuses on a civil issue while the spring semester problem focuses on a criminal issue.


Committee:  
Marc A. Casale, Chair
Robert S. Smith, Associate  
Prof. Christian Sundquist, Faculty Advisor


Competition Requirements:

Participants try cases prepared by the Senior Prize Trials Chair.

Eligibility: The competition is open to teams comprised of two third-year students who are enrolled in academic study at Albany Law School for both the fall and spring semesters and have a GPA of 2.0 or above (72 team limit). No academic credit will be given for participation in the competition.

Judges: Judges for all preliminary rounds are practicing judges and attorneys from the area. A New York State Judge, United States District Court Judge or Magistrate Judge presides over the final trial. The presiding judge is responsible for selecting which team will advance in the competition. The judge's decision is independent of the jury verdict.

Juries & Bailiffs: The bailiff and jury members are composed of first-year students and occasionally high school students from the area.


Announcements:
Congratulations to the 2011-2012 Karen C. McGovern Senior Prize Trials Winners, Javid Afzali & Nicholas J. Faso.  After a close trial against the team of Krysten G. Kenny & Marc R. Pallozzi, Afzali & Faso's team prevailed. 

A special congratulations to Nairobi N. Thomas for winning Best Oral Advocate. 

The Honorable Randolph F. Treece presided over the Final Round, which was held on March 7, 2012.