West Hartford senior Pat Schwab named best lawyer in competition that attracted hundreds of students across Connecticut

Kingswood Oxford was named Civics First Mock Trial State Champions on April 6 after competing at the State Capitol against Ridgefield High School. KO student Pat Schwab ’22 of West Hartford was named Best Lawyer. This is the first time that the students competed in person for two years after COVID-19 restrictions forced the students to conduct their court cases over Zoom.

The hypothetical case involved a serious injury, a concussion, of a minor while she was competing in a college showcase soccer tournament for an under-17 premier soccer team. As a result of the concussion, the youth continued to suffer from significant mental and physical impairment. She filed a lawsuit against her club’s soccer coach, the director of the program, and the club itself arguing that they were negligent in returning her to play too soon after an earlier concussion and are liable for the damages that she sustained.

Faculty advisor Lynne Levine who has worked with KO’s Mock Trial team for many years was impressed with the team’s arguments and their collaborative spirit. (KO’s Mock Trial team was declared co-state champions along with Weston High School in 2020, which was a first for the school.) The seniors that competed in the event were the same four who were on KO’s Middle School team four years ago when KO’s team came in second.

“The entire team, including alternates, got us here, but the competing team of Pat Schwab, Jordan DiMauro ’23 of West Hartford, Manu Narasimhan ’23 of Farmington, Charlie Simons ’24 of West Hartford, Caroline Boardman ’22 of Simsbury, and Tess Chapman ’23 of West Hartford completed the sweep of five victories for us this year,” Levine said. “Melinda Rose, the parent of last year’s graduate Braeden Rose, has done an excellent job as our only lawyer. It has been a fantastic year, and we are so proud of this team.”

According to Civics First Mock Trial website, this year more than 600 students from schools across Connecticut participated in mock trials. Forty-six schools with 57 teams competed in state and federal courtrooms with dozens of volunteers who served as judges.

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