IIT Chicago-Kent to compete in the AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition's 2013 regional tournament
Two teams from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law will compete in the American Association for Justice's (AAJ) 2013 Student Trial Advocacy Competition's regional tournament. IIT Chicago-Kent will compete against 14 teams from ten law schools located in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin March 7 to 10 in Chicago. The winning team will join the first-place teams from 13 other regions at the national finals April 4 to 7 in New Orleans.
Students Tara Korthals '13, Kate Kosartes '14, Koplan Nwabuoku '14 and Betsy Schulzetenberg '13 will compete on one of IIT Chicago-Kent's teams. The second IIT Chicago-Kent team will comprise Lauren Elliott '14, Michael Glink '14, Bernadett Guy '13 and Erin Mayer '13.
The students will argue Morgan Groat v. Steelton State University, a hypothetical wrongful death case. The first team is coached by IIT Chicago-Kent alumni Joseph Carlasare '12, Nikitas Fudukos '09, Joshua Jones '08 and Marcell Taylor '12 and attorney Christine Bowman of Jenner & Block. (Taylor was on the IIT Chicago-Kent team that represented the region in the 2012 national finals.) The second team is coached by IIT Chicago-Kent alumni Nicholas Economakos '12, Sulema Medrano '09, Charles Prochaska '10 and Rachael Sinnen '11.
Team member Tara Korthals graduated with honors from Miami University with a major in marketing and a minor in business legal studies. Teammate Kate Kosartes earned undergraduate degrees in political science and geoscience from the University of Iowa. Teammate Koplan Nwabuoku earned an undergraduate degree in international relations and international development from Tulane University. Teammate Betsy Schulzetenberg graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in history.
Team member Lauren Elliott completed her undergraduate education in business economics and public policy at Indiana University's Kelly School of Business. Teammate Michael Glink received a degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Teammate Bernadett Guy is a cum laude graduate of Loyola University Chicago, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a bachelor of science degree in psychology. Teammate Erin Mayer is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in Spanish and minored in history.
The American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) is a broad-based, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals and law students.
Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is celebrating "125 years of distinctive legal education." IIT Chicago-Kent is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. IIT Chicago-Kent's trial advocacy teams have won numerous individual student honors and regional and national competitions. The most recent U.S. News & World Report ranked IIT Chicago-Kent's trial advocacy program among the top five in the country.
