Unscripted Direct

Introduction (0:00:00). Justin gets mocked.
The Break (0:03:15). Results from Summit, National Pretrial, and Buffalo. Ravioli as Fiction and Truth (0:05:38). Baylor's Jerry Powell talks about his first novel, featuring a murder mystery in 1800s Waco and Catfish Calloway, the aging trial lawyer who represents the accused. He then gets philosophical about the decline of truth in America — and the increased importance of jury trials.
Main Interview: OSU’s Elizabeth Cooke (0:40:33). The Ohio State trial advocacy director discusses her Supreme Court brief, how her program has excelled despite attending relatively few competitions, the pleasures of Ohio ice cream, some Ohio State trivia, and her knack for spotting wildlife.
Mailbag Question (1:01:21). What should you say to a work colleague who doesn’t appreciate the value of hiring grads with trial team experience? Spencer gets angry.

Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer has two family members in trial. Did they consult him for advice?
The Short List (0:03:25). Stetson's Kate Donoghue talks about Hurricane Helene, shares the good news of her promotion, and evaluates Justin's hypothetical "candidates" to fill her old position.
Main Interview: Dave Schott (0:18:52). Denver's director talks about starting his own law firm, creating a board game, his worst public speaking experience (it's quite disturbing), serving as in-house counsel for a toymaker, and why a TV station named him an "Everyday Hero." He also opens up about his pending lawsuit -- why he sued Denver Law, how this has affected him, and where things stand now.
Mailbag Question (1:14:49). What do you do with the student no one wants to work with?
Musical Guest (1:20:08). We finish the episode with a musical performance from Professor Schott.

Introduction (0:00:00). Knock-knocks and birthdays.
Win, Lose, or Drawl (0:03:23). In a reaction to last week's episode, four Lone Star listeners teach Justin how to talk like a Texan.
The Break (0:08:52). Results from Drexel's Battle of the Experts. Spencer administers some truth serum.
Vexatious Litigants (0:12:53). South Carolina's Brett Bayne defends the standard "negative space" rule for cross examination, which requires witnesses to concede that anything omitted from their statements didn't happen. Baylor's Robert Little  takes the opposite view because he believes in something called "reality." Things get vexatious.
Main Interview: Brian Hughes (0:38:01). The head coach at St. John's Law identifies the "irrelevant borough" in New York, recounts his career opportunities as a philosophy major, describes his career as a private investigator's assistant, denies that he's been modeling his entire life after Jared Rosenblatt, plays "Name That Hughes," and explains why he's nearly invisible online: "Brian, what are you trying to hide?"
Mailbag Question (1:01:29). What is your least favorite synonym for "mock trial case"?

Introduction (0:00:00).
The Break (00:01:41). Results from First Chair New York, First Chair San Diego, and Tex-ABOTA's Voir Dire Competition.
Vexatious Litigants (0:03:42). Mercer's Katie Powers argues that teams should not be allowed to protest an invention of fact unless they attempted an impeachment. Drexel's Phil Pasquarello argues they should.  High jinks ensue.
Main Interview: Jo Perini-Abbott (0:27:33). Lewis and Clark's advocacy director recounts her journey west, explains her program's rapid rise, and tries to run from some prior social media posts.
Return Address (00:53:38).  Judge Jim Roberts of Cumberland Law sets the record straight about TOC's team selection system.
Mailbag Question (1:04:01). Loyola's Susan Poehls asks, what's the ideal number of parties for a competition to host?

Introduction (0:00:00). One tournament ends, another begins, and a third is resurrected.
The Break (0:14:34). Results from Berkeley's FlashTrials.
Vexatious Litigants (0:15:46). In the first installment of our new debate series, Fordham's Adam Shlahet and Cumberland's Judge Jim Roberts debate whether competitions should send judges the case beforehand.
Main Interview: Bobbi Flowers (0:54:03). The first director of Stetson's Advocacy Center talks about 40 years as a lawyer and 30 years at Stetson. What was it like prosecuting public corruption cases? How did she start EATS? Who are the best coaches she's seen? What was it like winning the Triple Crown? Why does she like having tough conversations? How did she "chase the Fall"? And who does she call "The Weasel"?
Mailbag Question (1:30:24). Georgia State's Paige Boorman asks, would our community benefit from model rules for competition procedures?

Introduction (0:00:00). Speaking slowly, competing quickly...
"...It Happens to All of Us" (0:04:14) Northwestern's Josh Jones and DePaul's Theo Thomas discuss how to more effectively coach Black students and how to build a more inclusive trial program.
Where are they now? (0:45:06) 2022 Top Gun champion Haley Kairab talks about what it was like winning Top Gun, how she turned down more lucrative jobs to start her career in the courtroom, the confidence that mock trial has given her, and how she spent that giant Top Gun check.
Mailbag Question (0:57:36). Georgia's Kellie Casey asks, should Tournament of Champions should change its selection criteria by including more than just two competitions? 

It's Season 7!
Season Preview (0:00:00). Justin and Spencer preview the six major storylines for the upcoming year, including some big news: Which three coaches will be writing the NTC regionals case? Which three coaches will be writing the NTC nationals case?
Homecoming (0:17:01). Dan Tilly returns to his alma mater, Baylor Law School. He answers absurd questions about why he made the move, explains how his job will change, tells us why his bio is so much shorter than Robert Little's, and wonders what he has to do to finally earn a Baylor email address.
Transition to Coaching (0:39:48). Two recent star competitors, Berkeley's Jenna Forster and Baylor's Kris Ruiz, offer advice to others making the transition from competitor to coach.
Mailbag (1:06:12). Would you let a student book a flight that risks missing the competition to avoid missing class?

The podcast was supposed to be on vacation ... but we interrupt this summer break for an important update! On May 1 (Episode 89), we covered the witness incident at NTC Nationals. On May 15, TYLA circulated a statement about the incident. We had some follow-up questions. So, we interviewed TYLA and ACTL leadership  about the incident -- and a broader range of National Trial Competition topics. We also learned about two significant changes to NTC 2025.
 
Intro (0:00:00). Spencer and Justin chat about their recent law firm training in Seattle, and how they prepared differently when teaching experienced and sophisticated litigators. 
The Break (0:08:43).  Results from Baylor's Top Gun.
Top Gun Conversation with Katie Powers (0:10:08). After the UCLA-Mercer final round, Justin and Katie chat about the weekend: how they prepared before they got to Waco, how they handled the hardest 24 hours in mock trial, and what they thought of the final round.
Witness Behavior (0:37:07) We asked coaches for questions they'd like us to ask TYLA NTC Co-Chair Dave Hagan about the witness incident. Why was the witness allowed to attend the social events with students after making the offensive comments? Will that witness be invited back next year? Would TYLA handle it differently if it had the chance?  Do you think the history of TYLA witness behavior created a culture that led to this? Why didn't TYLA's statement denounce the behavior? And how is TYLA going to change its witness training to prevent this from recurring?
National Trial Competition (0:48:41). Dave stays on and ACTL NTC Chair Richard Zielinski joins, as we continued to pose questions asked by coaches. Why do you think people are angry? How do TYLA and ACTL divide duties? How much money does ACTL contribute to NTC? Why have cases been so imbalanced? After this year's cases were more balanced with coach input, will you include coaches (who aren't coaching NTC) not just in the vetting process, but the drafting process? Will TYLA consider providing the witnesses, as it did until recently, to reduce teams' expenses? Dave and Richard answers these questions -- and more -- and announce some major changes to NTC casewriting and witnessing.
The After Party (1:31:03). After the interview, Spencer and Justin discuss -- and debate -- what they heard and what comes next.

Introduction. We follow up on last week's NTC critiques and unveil some new competitions.
Gavel Rankings (0:10:23). Jared announces the top 10 schools from the '23-24 season, highlights the schools who made the biggest leaps, and wonders if the TOC selection criteria should be updated.
Tournament of Champions (0:18:56).  Last week, Judge Roberts "translated" Jared, so Justin asks him to translate other community members, too. Then we find out which 16 schools are invited to TOC 2024 -- and who's hosting.
Top Gun (0:35:25). Robert Little announces this summer's Top Gun field, shares which tournaments he looks at most closely when deciding invitations, and explains why his office wall has been blank all these years.
NALAE (0:48:46). Spencer interviews outgoing president Liz Lippy and incoming president Adam Shlahet about the organization's achievements, goals, and new social media project.
Bay Area Trial League (1:16:06). Walkup attorney Jeff Clause shares what he learned.
Scripties! (1:25:16) We finish Season 6 by recognizing the community's best competitions, coaches, and programs. Plus, our first-ever Scripty acceptance speech!

Introduction. Spencer hosts solo!
The Break (0:02:07). Results from UCLA's Amicus Cup and GW's Estrella -- as well as Stetson's 2024 EATS awards. 
Anger Translator (0:03:48). President Obama had an anger translator. Now Hofstra's Jared Rosenblatt has one, too. Jared shares his opinions on NTC Nationals -- from the case issues, to pairings that didn't match the rules, to "enlargements" that were too small to read, to the sexist and offensive TYLA witness. And Cumberland's Judge Jim Roberts is here to translate: "What Jared meant to say..." 
Main Interview: Justin Bernstein (0:36:41).  It’s the big interview of the big guy.  We learn lots about Justin, including: when he won his first trial (and why the verdict wasn’t unanimous), what precipitated his mom’s concern about his first day at a new school, one of his basketball nicknames (if you know the other, do tell!), why he hates Stanford (but who got the last laugh), his greatest achievement and why it was the punchline of a best-man speech, and a few of his secrets to success at UCLA. Justin explains his unusual career arc: corporate litigator to poker player to mock trial consultant to academia. And we even get him to tell us about how Tom Cruise "coached" him in his early years of mock trial.