October 29 – November 1, 2009
St. John's University School of Law
St. John's University School of Law and the Frank. S.
Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute are proud to host the 2009
National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s Tournament of Champions.
This year’s competition will take place at the United States
District Court of the Eastern District of New York. There will
be a Gala Awards Dinner at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel,
in Queens, New York, following the semi-final round.
NITA -The Tournament of Champions:
History
In 1989, Professor Charles E. "Chuck" Kirkwood of the University of
Akron School of Law hosted the first Tournament of Champions Trial
Competition. He invited the best student trial advocacy law schools
in the nation. Invitations were based on performance over the
years in two "open" student trial competitions, the National Trial
Competition and the ATLA National Student Trial Advocacy
Competition. The tournament was informal and fun, with a focus on
outstanding trial advocacy skills.
In 1995, NITA recognized the outstanding quality of this
tournament and chose to sponsor the Tournament of Champions.
In 2005, LexisNexis® became a co-sponsor.
Today, the tournament is one of the premier law school trial
competitions in the nation and is known for having the highest
quality of congeniality and good sportsmanship.
Each year, sixteen schools are invited. The
invitations are based on a three-year performance record at the
National Trial Competition and the ATLA National Student Trial
Advocacy Competition, and performances at prior Tournament of
Champions competition.
The Competition consists of four preliminary rounds, followed by
a semi final and final round. This year the preliminary and
semi final rounds will be held at the United States District Court
of the Eastern District of New York, and the final round will be
held at St. John's University School of Law Belson Moot Court
Room.
Contact Information
Please send any questions or concerns regarding the Tournament of
Champions to sjunitadirector@gmail.com.
General Inquiries: To find out more about the
Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute at St. John's
University School of Law, please visit
www.stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/law/journals/TrialAdvocacy/