THUNDER BAY - While the crime, the suspect, and the consequences may not have been real, successfully pleading the case before members of the Canadian legal community left two Lakehead University Law School students with some real feelings of excitement and pride.
“Being able to come back with the trophy, although it’s not something we really counted on, it really is quite a shot in the arm for the whole community at the school,” said Justis Danto-Clancy, a second-year law student with the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.
Danto-Clancy, along with Justin Blanco, a third-year law student, won the Arnup Cup moot, or mock trial, in Toronto earlier this month against universities in Ontario.
This is the second-year in a row Lakehead University has won the competition that sees students from law schools across the province participate in a mock trial.
“My partner Justin and I were charged with defending a man charged with first-degree murder,” Danto-Clancy said. “The idea is the quality of the advocacy that you present. There are certain parts of a trial, so the opening, direct examinations, cross-examinations, and a closing. On each component you are assessed and at the end decide whether or not your advocacy was good enough to win.”
Danto-Clancy said they relied on local lawyers for coaching, including Amanda Gallo who participated in the Arnup Cup last year, and Marco Frangione, as well as their fellow classmates.
“It’s awesome to feel the pride of the school,” he said. “But also a ton of people have put their weight behind our effort, so it’s nice to be able to come back to Lakehead and show that was really worthwhile.”
The annual competition allows law students a chance to experience what it is like in a trial setting, which provides a lot of interesting scenarios and challenges.
“It was terrifying. You are up there on the podium shaking like a leaf, trying to keep it all together, and that’s really where the strength of your preparation comes into play,” Danto-Clancy said. “Whether you get shaken under pressure is really what the competition is all about. It’s guaranteed that at a trial something is not going to go according to plan, so it’s about how well you can adapt to that and how well you can stay calm under pressure.”
Danto-Clancy and Blanco will be heading to Ottawa in March to compete against universities from across the country in the Sopinka Cup national trial advocacy competition.
“I’ve already noticed that my confidence in the courtroom has changed, my general demeanor in the courtroom has changed, but also just having any experience defending a case where somebody stands to face some serious jeopardy, a serious penalty, just gives you a sense of what this life can be like,” Danto-Clancy said. “To me it was a really exciting and encouraging experience that has vindicated my choice to go to law school.”
