On Friday, January 23rd, the Barry Law Trial Team won the prestigious Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition hosted annually by the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar. The team comprised of Luis Herrera and James Smeriglio advocating and witnesses Nicole Metzgar-Schall and Will Sepulveda made history by being the first Barry team to win in the thirty-two year history of the competition. This team was coached by Denise Beamer, Jordan Ostroff, and our very own, Attorney Nicholas Primrose. (Coaches pictured below with the trophy).
This Barry team faced Stetson and Florida State in the preliminary rounds. They went onto beat the Stetson team in the Quarterfinals, Florida Coastal in the Semifinals, and the other Stetson team in the Finals. The competition was held in West Palm Beach, with the final round being held in the Historic Palm Beach County Courthouse.
The case packet surrounded the wrongful death of a bicyclist, Joseph Eleazer. The lawsuit was brought by his wife against an allegedly negligent driver, Robert Flynn. The Barry Trial team practiced over their winter break, during Christmas and New Year’s, to prepare for the competition. Also competing was another Barry Team, composed of first year law students (Andrew Abreu, Chris Bailey, Sofia Hernandez, Tracy Scowden, and Chloe Zubkin). This team also made history by advancing to the Elite 8; this is the first time in Barry’s history that both teams advanced into the elimination rounds.
We would like to congratulate all of the Barry students for their hard work, dedication and successes at the Chester Bedell Competition. As longtime supporters of Barry Law School and the Trial Team, we appreciate the time these students have committed to becoming skilled advocates and wish them continued success in school and their future careers. We would also like to congratulate the coaches for providing guidance and teaching to the students. Finally, we send a big congratulates to our attorney, on winning his first trial team championship as a coach. His dedication after work and on the weekends is truly a representation of his love to Barry Trial Team and seeing the student advocates grow.