Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax; 713/743-8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2004

Contact: Eric Gerber
713/743-8189 (office)
713/617-7130(pager)
egerber@uh.edu

HOUSTON, March 18, 2004 – Hear ye, hear ye. A student team from the University of Houston Law Center has made it to the championship rounds of the National Trial Competition in Austin March 24-27.

This annual “mock trial” event attracts teams from more than 100 law schools across the country and involves more than 1,000 law students. The top two teams from each of 13 regional tournaments advance to the final rounds held in Austin each year. The UHLC team won the Texas-Louisiana region, defeating law school teams from Loyola-New Orleans, St. Mary's, SMU, Baylor and the University of Texas along the way. South Texas College of Law is the other winner from this region.

The UHLC team members are Michelle Benavides, Eddie Berbarie and Julie Gray. They are coached by Jacqueline M. Houlette, a ’93 UHLC graduate who is now a partner at Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.

A second UHLC team, made up of Jacob Esparza, Walter Lynch & Jon Stevenson, lost in this year’s quarterfinal round of regional competition.

The National Trial Competition, which was established in 1975, is sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and the Texas Young Lawyers Association. The program is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. In this year’s competition, the 26 regional winners will be mock-trying a wrongful death case involving an automobile accident with allegations of drunk driving. Judges for the preliminary rounds will include Austin attorneys and justices. ACTL members will judge later rounds.

A UHLC team has advanced to the National Trial Competition championship rounds seven times during the past decade. In 1997, UHLC reached the finals but lost to Northwestern.

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