Crestview Hills, KY; Jan. 2, 2006 – The verdict is in: the team of students from Salmon P. Chase College of Law tied for first place in the Ohio state mock trial competition, held in Cleveland last month. For Emily Kirtley Hanna, an associate of the law firm of Deters, Benzinger & LaVelle, P.S.C., who is an adjunct faculty member for the college’s National Trial Advocacy Program, the victory was hard-earned and especially sweet. After months of coaching students three to four times a week, the team beat out the best and the brightest in the state.
“It was exciting because we beat teams from the University of Akron, rated as having one of the best trial advocacy programs in the country,” says Hanna, who is a 2003 Chase College alumnus who participated in mock trial competitions as a student.
The Ohio competition was judged by common pleas judges and attorneys from Cuyahoga County. Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law was the only Kentucky team to participate in the Ohio competition. The team moves on to the regional competition held in Youngstown, Ohio in Spring, 2006.
Mock trials are structured like a “real” court trial and follow the same rules to provide students with a hands-on learning experience. Team members compete as advocates. The student advocates are responsible for delivering an opening statement, conducting direct and cross-examinations of witnesses and delivering closing arguments.
In addition to her work with Chase students, Hanna serves on the Board of Directors of the Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, which provides services for the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless.
At DBL, Hanna practices in the areas of commercial litigation, banking, employment law and creditors’ rights and is a member of the Northern Kentucky, Kentucky and Ohio State Bar Associations.
DETERS, BENZINGER & LAVELLE is a full-service law firm with 42 attorneys in its Crestview Hills and Cincinnati offices. The firm serves private individuals and companies in many industries including banking, computer & information technology, construction, health care, labor and employment relations, and real estate. More information, visit: www.dbllaw.com.
CONTACT: ANGELA GRIMM
ROBESON MARKETING & DESIGN
513.898.9505 | 513.607.9592 (CELL)
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