Congratulations to Casey Ruppen, P&N Law Clerk and member of The University of Akron School of Law Mock Trial Team who recently won 2023 National Civil Trial Competition!

In addition to Casey (3L), other team members included Alyssa Pijanowski (3L), Emma Hall (2L), and Josie Forney(2L). The team was coached by John Conley, an attorney at Lewis Brisbois, and Dave Oeschger of The Becker Law Firm.

The 22nd National Civil Trial Competition was put on by Loyola Law School in Santa Monica, California. It is an invitational tournament open to all ABA-accredited law schools, but only 16 of the top trial teams in the nation, consisting of 64 student litigants, receive invites. The team faced strong competition from St. Mary’s, Baylor, Stetson, Syracuse, UC Berkley, and Cumberland, beating them in the final round to win the tournament! The last time an Akron team won the tournament was in 2007.

Students litigated a fictitious case titled "In Re Estate of Athena Washington". It involved a dispute over the validity of two potential wills left by the famous gospel singer Athena Washington, who died without a formal, typewritten will in 2020. The case was based loosely on the Aretha Franklin will dispute.

We are proud of Casey and the entire Akron Law Team for participating in this opportunity to expand their trial skills. We wish them all the best and are confident they will become successful advocates of justice.