MSU Law Student Wins ‘Best Advocate’ in First Virtual Mock Trial Competition

For third-year law student, Bobbi Sell, ’21, the All Star National Challenge was unlike any mock trial competition that she’s competed in since undergrad. With restrictions due to COVID-19, the competition was held virtually, and while several MSU Law students adapted to virtual practice when changes began last spring, Sell had yet to compete in this format.

The All Star National Challenge was established this year in response to the pandemic by St. Mary’s Law School, which partnered with Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Quinnipiac University School of Law, University of California Berkeley Law, University of California Los Angeles School of Law, and the University of San Diego School of Law.

From the moot courtroom at MSU Law, Sell competed with her peers, Gabriel Holmstrom, ’21, Josh Reuter, ‘21, and Senara Dollar, ’21, with Sell and Dollar representing the Defense and Holmstrom and Reuter for the Prosecution. The competition problem centered around The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

“This problem was unbelievable. Every person that we told about this, even our coach, said, ‘This is insane to think that you’re able to try this in 70 minutes’,” Sell explained. “The case was over 150 pages. There were over 25 different exhibits. It was a very complex, moving-parts problem. In addition, there was a swing witness for the defense so they could choose one or the other – eyewitness or alternative detective. The opposing team, the plaintiffs, didn’t know that so they prepared two openings and a different direct. There were so many moving parts.”

With a challenging problem combined with competing virtually, Sell said there were a few bumps in the road as she and her teammates navigated this new online territory.

“Objections were really weird. It’s just like talking on the phone when you can’t see someone’s mouth moving, sometimes you interrupt accidentally. It’s the same thing over Zoom because someone’s about to talk or the opposing counsel is talking and I want to object, and then the witness and the opposing counsel are talking and the judge responds, ‘Did someone say something?’” she explained. “That felt a little uncomfortable, but we worked through it.”

Approaching witnesses and showing exhibits, she said, were also modified for the format, and for the sake of time, hard decisions were made by her team about how to prioritize their argument and alter their approach.

“That was really hard because I love holding up evidence in front of the members of the jury at the end and being really dramatic and putting emphasis on it,” she said.

At the end of the competition-run, Sell was recognized with the “Best Advocate” Award representing MSU College of Law.

“I don’t even know how to explain how grateful I am. The recognition is beyond belief. So many years of refining the skills and to be put up against people from UCLA and George Washington, I can’t believe I saw my name up there,” she said. “I love mock trial, and I received some of these awards in undergrad, but I just never thought at this caliber that I would be able to excel.”

Sell believes that this will be her final mock trial experience as she prepares to graduate in spring 2021 and begin a full-time associate position in Kansas City with Shook, Hardy & Bacon. With this award recognition, she’s happy to close this chapter: “That’s definitely a cherry on top. I’m really grateful for the accomplishments that I’ve gotten thus far, and I can put it in the pocket and keep moving forward.”