Dear FBA members:

Each year the American College of Trial Lawyers co-sponsors the National Trial Competition (NTC), in which local lawyers and judges are asked to serve as judges and jurors. The national Competition draws teams from more than one hundred law schools and involves more than one thousand law students annually. I can tell you from personal experience, that this competition involves the very best law students in the nation, as they compete in the courtroom, and is a most rewarding and worthwhile investment of your time. Also, it is a great opportunity for you to see colleagues from around the state who will be present to judge.

This year, the Region 7 competition (which includes students from law schools located in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana) will be hosted by Michigan State University and all rounds will be held at the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI.

 The preliminary rounds are scheduled as follows:

•            Round 1: Thursday, February 8—5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

•            Round 2: Friday, February 9—8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

•            Round 3: Friday, February 9—2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

We also need judges for the final round, which will be held on Saturday, February 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

HOW DO YOU SIGN-UP? If you are willing to serve as a judge, you can sign up early by clicking on this link:

https://www.law.msu.edu/tyla/judge.php

You can volunteer to judge as many or as few rounds as you like. I encourage you to recruit other lawyers in your firm/organization to volunteer as well. Once volunteers are identified, assignments to particular rounds will be made by organizing staff. 

Again, all rounds will be held at the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI. I hope to get a strong turn out from FBA members given the venue for the competition.

The FBA is proud to support this initiative and welcomes your support. If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to contact me directly and I will do my best to answer any questions you might have. 

More information about the NTC can be found HERE. As a point of interest, note one of our chapter members (Hank Moon) who is also one of our committee co-chairs can be found amongst the 2014 winners.

Thank you in advance for your support of this great event!

George Donnini

FBA President