Mock Trial 24-25 Competition Funds

UNC Charlotte's Mock Trial Club has served as a home for students who have a passion for the legal field, those who aim to be future lawyers, and those who just like to act. The Mock Trial club teaches students litigation, public speaking, analytics, and case-building skills through role-playing a case every year. The club travels around the country to litigate against other universities in the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA). 

This year we are litigatingShannon Shahid v. Taylor Hopson, a fictional civil case dealing with the mysterious death of businessperson and millionaire Avery Bancroft, and the resulting fight for their inheritance. On April 25, 2024, infamous Midlands millionaire Avery Bancroft died while aboard the Mid-Riverina Express (the “MRE”). Bancroft had two children: Taylor Hopson and Shannon Shahid (Hopson’s younger half-sibling). According to Bancroft’s will, Hopson—who was also aboard the MRE when Bancroft died—would inherit most of Bancroft’s estate. Shahid has brought forward a Slayer Statute proceeding, alleging Hopson caused Bancroft’s death and therefore cannot inherit any of Bancroft’s estate.

Our goal has always been to make it to the American Mock Trial Association's National Competition. Universities that make it to the national level create some of the finest lawyers due to the skills students develop to make it that far in the yearly competition. Unfortunately, a big part of making it to national competitions is having the money to attend that and other competitions to prepare us for regionals. Most nationally competing universities have large amounts of funding in their programs that skew the playing field against newer teams.

Donate today to help our club enhance public speaking, critical thinking skills, and further our legal careers, as we compete against top-notch mock trial clubs from around the country.

With a budget of $2,000, we will be able to attend competitions throughout the year allowing us to get the most amount of practice before our regional competition. 

Coming off of last year’s biggest mock trial club, the team has grown even more. With students in all different majors from Political Science to Criminal Justice to Biology to Business Analytics and beyond, the club is a place for everyone. Our students are a part of numerous other clubs on campus such as SGA, Pre-Law Society, and even give weekly tours of the campus. We have the motivation to compete against any university and give it our best, we just need YOUR help with funding. With your donations, we are confident that we will be able to be victorious against any university we face in our mock trials!

You can double or triple the impact of your gift if your employer participates in a matching gift program.  To see if your employer has a matching gift program, click here. If your company matches, complete your matching gift form and submit it to UNC Charlotte via mail (UNC Charlotte Foundation, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223), fax (704-687-7259) or email (mwinslow@uncc.edu).