2024 Student Trial Advocacy Competition
The Regional Tournaments will be held virtually March 7-10, and the National Finals will be held in person April 4-7.
Welcome to STAC 2024
Each year, AAJ hosts the Student Trial Advocacy Competition (STAC), showcasing top future trial lawyers. This tournament is one of the premier trial advocacy competitions in the country. Regional Tournaments are held across the country, and the two winners of each region then compete in the National Finals. The winning team members are invited to join AAJ at its annual convention in July.
The 2024 Regional Tournaments will be held virtually March 7-10. The National Finals will be held in person April 4-7 in Chicago, IL.
2024 STAC Timeline
- School registration opens: October 16, 2023
- School registration closes: October 27, 2023
- Coach registration opens: November 1, 2023
- School cancellation deadline: November 17, 2023
- Student registration opens: December 1, 2023
- Fact pattern released: January 2024
- Student registration closes: January 19, 2024
- Virtual Regional Tournaments: March 7-10, 2024
- In-Person National Finals in Chicago: April 4-7, 2024
Participating in STAC was one of the greatest experiences I had in Law School. Our team had an amazing time traveling to the AAJ National Convention in San Diego and representing Campbell Law while networking with attorneys from across the country. We are proud to be National Champions.
Competition Rules and Procedures
Who can compete?
Each school may use its own method to select its trial team. However, for a student to be eligible, he or she must be enrolled for a J.D. degree and be a law student member of AAJ. Students can join AAJ here.
What is the format of the competition?
AAJ's mock trial cases are always civil cases and tend to deal with products liability, personal injury, or medical malpractice/negligence issues. Teams will be judged on their skills in case preparation, opening statements, use of facts, the examination of lay and expert witnesses, and closing arguments. There will be no written exercise.
How are law schools selected to participate in STAC?
STAC is open to law schools nationwide, and each school that registers is guaranteed one team. There will be 160 teams in 2024 competition, and each team must have four student competitors. Schools that have volunteered to serve as regional competition hosts will be guaranteed two teams. Schools may request a second team when registering, and the remaining slots for second teams will be filled as follows:
- All schools not serving as regional competition hosts that request two teams and register on the first day that school registration opens will be placed into a random lottery to determine if they receive a second team.
- Once those slots are filled, any schools that requested two teams and registered on the first day that school registration opens will be placed on the waitlist in random order.
- Any schools that register after the first day of registration and request two teams will be placed on the waitlist for a second team in the order in which they register.
If spots open due to teams dropping out of the competition, those spots will be filled in waitlist order. Non-host schools that requested two teams will be notified after school registration closes either that they are receiving two teams or their position on the waitlist for a second team.
Each school registration receives a timestamp which will be used to determine the status of the second team. If a school registers two teams and only one team is offered a place in the competition, the school will receive a refund for the second team after the completion of the competition.
How are regions assigned?
Teams are assigned to regionals by AAJ, no placement requests are accepted. Only the top two teams from each region will advance to the National Finals.
Law student are invited to join AAJ. In addition to being eligible to compete in STAC, law students receive online access to Trial Magazine and AAJ News Brief, are listed in AAJ member directory, and can apply for writing, speaking, and leadership opportunities.
Join TodaySupport the Student Trial Advocacy Competition and volunteer to serve as a judge or juror. More than a thousand AAJ members and other lawyers volunteer each year. It is a fun and easy way to support future trial lawyers. Sign-up and be alerted with judge recruitment begins.
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