I often joke that to make up for being a Business Lawyer, I volunteer working with High School students. While it usually gets a chuckle or two at the end of the day, it’s not actually why I do it: I volunteer working with High School students because it’s fun and their enthusiasm is contagious.
In my role as Chair of the Ontario Justice Education (OJEN) Halton Committee, I coordinate the Halton Public High School Mock Trial Tournament and the Halton High School Mock Trial Championship. Both tournaments are part of the Ontario Bar Association/OJEN Mock Trial Tournament project and our first tournament is this Friday.
Since getting involved with High School Mock Trial tournaments, I have seen the number of schools fielding teams grow, which is amazing. I have also seen the number of students trying out for the Mock Trial teams explode to the point where it reminds me of High School Basketball try-outs. This is awesome!
This year’s Mock Trial OBA/OJEN Fact Scenario is throwing a new curve ball at the students – the accused is not testifying at trial. That has never happened before in a High School Mock Trial tournament and it has lead to some very interesting discussions as the teams prepare to argue their cases.
While I have enough Judges for this year’s tournament – if you are interested in gettng involved, shoot me an email now and you’ll get on the list for next year. You won’t regret it !
Inga B. Andriessen, JD
Senior Lawyer