Inaugural Spring Leagues Delivers on Mission

May 27

Online platform allows 600+ students to participate in international program

As we spent hundreds of hours testing Zoom functionality, drafting new rules and developing new software, the Empire team dreamed of this moment: somehow finding a way to leverage our work during the pandemic to make mock trial more accessible for young people.

On May 19-21, 2023, we saw that vision become a reality with the launch of the Empire Spring Leagues.

Designed to be a competition for all, the Spring Leagues brought together over 600 students from 3 countries, 23 states, and the District of Columbia. But of greater importance to the organization was the issue of access.

We hoped that the online platform would ensure over time that any student, regardless of socioeconomic status, could compete in a national mock trial program if they had the desire to do so. To that end, we made the competition free for Title I schools (i.e. schools located in socially disadvantaged communities) and subsidized the entrance cost for all other students.

“We know there’s financial barriers to participating in any national extracurricular program that requires travel, and we wanted to do our small part in making mock trial more accessible for young people,” said Empire’s Executive Director, Justin Matarrese.

“We see the online model as a way to do that.”

The Result

With four trials in the books, we couldn’t be happier with the outcome in year 1:

29 new teams, ~300 students, participated in the program, joining the Empire Family for the first time
10 teams from Title I schools competed
~30% of the field (~200 students) competed for free
The average cost of entry per student was less than $14
~200 lawyers, judges, law students, and college mock trialers volunteered as judges and jurors

“The Spring League was a perfect embodiment of Empire’s mission to educate, connect, and empower,” said Ryan Smith, coach of the Mathematics, Civics, and Sciences Charter School (MCSC) from Philadelphia, PA.

“Because of [the Title I scholarship], a school like mine, one that doesn’t have extra funds at the end of the school year, was able to compete and connect with students from all over the world.”

“Thank you, Empire.”

How It Was Made Possible

The prospect of running thirty (30) trials at once was scary, even to experienced competition organizers, like us. But fortunately, we had a little help.

“The PROcess software made it simple for us, even with so many trials going on,” remarked Emily Shapiro, who helped Empire over the weekend and throughout the pandemic. “We inputted the Zoom meeting room links into the software and PROcess handled the rest.”

Coaches and students accessed the software using a personal website link, which brought them directly to their team’s PROcess page. They then entered their roster, submitted pre-trial forms, viewed their round pairings, and entered their Zoom courtroom, all with a few clicks of a button.

“PROcess was an absolute breeze to use for submitting information and accessing courtrooms,” said Mackenzie DeLong, coach of McNary High School from Oregon, a first-time Empire participant.

“The tech worked exactly as advertised,” added Davis Mugford, coach of the JR Tucker High School team from Henrico, Virginia, whose team also made its Empire debut. “It was straightforward, user friendly, and easy to navigate.”

“The Spring Leagues was all-around a success.”

The Experience

As an organization, we feel that young people learn the most when they are challenged intellectually and when they are having fun. We brought that mindset with us to the Spring Leagues.

This year’s case was inspired by the tragic Alec Baldwin shooting on the Rust movie set. Case Committee Chair Nick Cotter’s fact pattern was thought provoking and topical.

“The case is different from any other mock trial case I have done in the past,” said Lisa Wong, a first-time Empire participant from Lake Howell High School in Florida. “I really enjoyed the challenge… it was a great way to end the school year!”

But it wasn’t just the case that made the Empire experience enjoyable for students, remarked Lisa’s teammate. It was also the ceremonies that were special.

“I was expecting the Spring Leagues to be just like every other mock trial competition. From the second opening ceremonies started, I knew I was wrong,” said Emily Denczek, referencing a ceremony hosted by Empire grad Oscar Samios, a native of Australia.

“We had fun the entire time!”

To get ready for their Empire experience, our students had to prepare their case for trial, while juggling final exams, AP tests, graduations, and prom. They stayed committed, however, because of a desire to continue their season and to improve for the future.

“The entire Spring Leagues experience was ideal for our team… ” said Coach Mugord. “[My students] got much needed skills from this competition that will push them to the next level this fall.”

We asked coaches, despite the busy time of the year, would you compete in the Spring Leagues next year?

“We’re so excited to participate again,” responded Whitney Coates, coach of the Orange County School of the Arts (CA)

“You set a high bar for any other invitational.”

“It was a great experience.”

This is Part I of a two-part story on the Spring Leagues. Part II will focus on the Premier League with a feature story to be released after the Playoffs.

Do you want to watch our extraordinary teams in action? Premier League playoffs are scheduled for 11 AM ET and 4 PM ET on Sunday, June 4, with the finals taking place on Tuesday, June 6 at 6 PM ET. All trials will be carried on YouTube.