New England's NTC Champions

Cassandra Hearn and her partner Paul Caruso won the National Trial Competition's New England Regional Tournament (link). The National Trial Competition (NTC) is one of the oldest and most prestigious mock trial competitions in the United States. Every ABA-accredited law school in the country is invited to compete in this annual competition. The American College of Trial Lawyers sponsors the tournament.

This year 22 teams competed in the New England Regional Tournament including Harvard Law, Maine, New England Law, Franklin Pierce and Suffolk University (to name a few). To get to the championship round, you must win at least 3 of 4 matches.

Cassandra and Paul will travel to Houston, TX on March 28 to face the winners of the thirteen other regional tournaments in the national phase of the competition. Paul Caruso was also the recipient of the Judy Potter Award, which is given to the tournament's Most Outstanding individual advocate. Cassandra Hearn becomes one of only four Suffolk University Law School (Suffolk) students to win the tournament two times. Their primary coaches were Bobby Hazelton (adjunct Suffolk faculty member) and Jason Drori (Suffolk Law alumnus).



According to the Texas Young Lawyers Association web page, The National Trial Competition was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen students advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar. The program is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. It is the Texas Young Lawyers Association intent to provide a meaningful contribution to the development of future trial lawyers.