Unscripted Direct

With the National Trial Competition kicking off today -- six regionals this weekend! -- we are devoting this week's episode to the Texas Young Lawyers Association. 

(0:00:47) Spencer and Justin discuss the launch of NTC 2022.  (0:03:33) We spotlight the National Trial League, with guest Todd Berger from Syracuse, who describes the most intense trial competition in the country -- and announces this inaugural winner.  (0:14:28) Jeff Brooks is the guest judge for this week's Motion in Limine. "What makes for the ideal competition judge?"  And, for the first time, we have back-to-back Big Interviews: (0:28:57) Bree Trevino, the Face of NTC, and (1:00:16) Marty Jones, its most frequent case author.  

(00:56) Spencer names a tournament after himself, and Justin has some questions. (07:47) Frankie DiGiacco from University of San Diego takes the bench as our guest judge for Motions in Limine. Our main interview is with Temple's Sara Jacobson. (26:04) Sara talks about her career arc (she originally planned to be a prosecutor!), holding practice during storms and parades, her aggression behind the wheel, and how she became (in Jules Epstein's apt description) "the conscience of our community."

We kick off Season 2!  (00:51) We make some predictions for the new year. (10:43) We introduce a new segment, Motions in Limine, with judge-of-the-week Professor Ramona Albin from Cumberland. (28:13) And, for our main interview, Spencer speaks to Judge David Erickson from Chicago Kent. 

Judge Erickson talks about getting hit by nuns, his baseball career, his career as a lawyer (did you know he lost his first trial ... and then won his next 52?), his career as a judge, coaching his school to five national championships, hamburgers, hot dogs, actual dogs, and, of course, all things Chicago.

To help you get through exam-grading, endless gift shopping, and general trial ad withdrawal, we've got a special episode of Unscripted Direct to bridge the gap to Season Two (which debuts in January). We're calling this the Little Holiday Special because we were joined by the incomparable Robert Little.

Robert tells us which monikers he prefers (spoiler: don't call him "Rob"), why camaraderie among co-counsel is overrated, what he's learned about married life, how Dan Tilly bamboozled him once, and how Gerry Powell bamboozled him twice. We also talk about Baylor's amazing trial advocacy program and Top Gun competition.

Full credit to Spencer for creating the fun holiday music for this episode!

Our last episode of Season 1! 
(0:00:33) Introduction: Spencer and Justin talk about how making a podcast differed from their expectations.   
(0:05:32) Interview with Mike Kelly, name partner at our flagship sponsor, Walkup Melodia Kelly & Schoenberger.   
(0:18:08) The Break: Results from Georgetown's White Collar competition.   
(0:19:20) Spotlight: Fordham's Kelly Competition, with Adam Shlahet. 
(0:27:44) Spotlight: Loyola's NCTC, with Susan Poehls. 
(0:36:52) Truth Serum: Spencer cross-examines Justin about UCLA's five Fall tournament wins. 
(0:49:24) Question of the Week 
(0:56:05) The big interview! Drexel's Gwen Stern talks about creating the Drexel trial advocacy program, their rivalry with Temple, and what it was like winning their first national championship. She talks about her "other careers": exercising with celebrities, appearing on The View, and what she thinks of Greta van Susteran. And she opens up about her husband Andy: how they met, how they supported each other as they built successful legal careers, and how she has coped with losing him this summer. 

In our penultimate episode of the season:

• We spotlight three competitions: Tournament of Champions (Gina Gerardi, Loyola), the 64-school All Star Bracket Challenge Finals (A.J. Bellido de Luna, St. Mary's), and All Star National (Rob McFarland, Faulkner)
• We announce the three winners of the Mock Madness prediction contest
• Spencer and Justin talk about their teams facing in an important final round. We each have some strong words about their opponent...
• Question of the Week! 
• Spencer interviews Joe Lester, professor at American. Joe talks about Trial Team Central, the differences between building a great program at Faulkner and joining a program at American that's already had great success, how he comes up with unique tournament formats, and how he became the song leader for his church's Sunday services.

This week on Unscripted Direct:

• We spotlight three competitions: Golden Gate's In Vino Veritas, Quinnipiac's ABA criminal competition, and Davis's MLK Civil Rights tournament.
• We share who made The Break at the Best in Texas mock trial competition
• We discuss the live v. virtual poll results from Professor Epstein
• Justin gets a cheering section for Question of the Week, but is it enough?
• (No, of course not.)
• And our main guest:  St. Mary's A.J. Bellido de Luna! A.J. talks about how growing up poor affects his work as an advocacy teacher, what he learned from his service as a Marine and police officer, what he plans to accomplish as the next president of NALAE, how he's helped his school climb the national rankings, and his favorites among the finer things: steak, hotels, cocktails, and clothes.

This week's episode is loaded:

• Spencer interviews Brett Bayne, the director South Carolina's program. Brett talks about why he often keeps teams together for multiple semesters, the gaudiest thing in his office, how he feels the AAJ competition, and whether he thinks his program is underrated.
• We spotlight the Buffalo Niagara competition. Jennifer Scharf and Stephen Soos tell us about a final round protest and two of the more ... unusual murder weapons.
• We welcome our first musical guest, Judge Tim Franczyk. He's terrific!
• We recognize the winners of the second set of All Star regionals.
• Spencer and I debate the role of hostile witnesses in competitions.
• Question of the Week involves a teacher that shaped the future and a road trip that foreshadowed the future.

This week on Unscripted Direct:

• Our main interview: I spoke to Sara Williams, a trial attorney and adjunct professor at Cumberland. She's funny, poignant, and always real. Sara describes how she found advocacy, how Judge Roberts ruined her street cred, how much she loves her two French bulldogs.
• Todd Berger joins us for our most candid Tournament Spotlight, where he talks about what went well at the Syracuse National Trial Competition, what didn't, and how he thinks about hosting competitions.
• For our other Tournament Spotlight, we turn the tables and put Justin in the hot seat, as he answers questions about UCLA's new competition, The Verdict.
• Questions of the Week: Why I have my job and what if Justin no longer had his...

Thanks for listening!

 This week on Unscripted Direct:

• Spencer interviews Dean Zelda Harris of Loyola-Chicago. Dean Harris talks about her career as an advocate for domestic violence victims, how she became dean (during a pandemic!), how she diversified their advocacy program, how Loyola integrates 1Ls into the program, and -- most controversially -- why baseball is better for kids than soccer.
• A loyal listener submits a suggestion to rename our Tournament Spotlight segment
• We present two Tournament Spotlights: King of the Hill (hosted by Joe Lester and American) and the Medico-Legal Competition (hosted by Jared Rosenblatt and Hofstra)
• Question of the Week has a new winner!