Member Directory
2016 Law Scholars at the State Bar of Georgia
Application to the 2019 Law Academy is a two-step process:
The on-line application and letter of recommendation must be completed/received by the Mock Trial office by Monday, August 12.
Tuition and completed forms are due upon check-in on Thursday, August 22.
Important Dates
- Law Academy: August 22-25
- Application deadline: August 12
- Coach letter of recommendation: August 12 (may be emailed)
- Full tuition payment ($350) and signed forms from application packet: August 22 at the Academy check-in
What is Law Academy and why should students consider applying?
Mock Trial Team members with at least one year of active participation on their mock trial team are invited to attend an intense weekend training experience that's fun and informative.
- Law Academy provides pre-mock trial season training for student team leaders
- Law Academy offers extensive instruction on trial procedure
- Law Academy faculty is made up of attorneys and judges from across Georgia who are HSMTC veterans
- Participation in Law Academy develops leadership skills, encourages responsibility, builds citizenship and forms new friendships among high school students across Georgia
- Participation in Law Academy acquaints students with our legal system in a way that encourages respect and understanding of the legal profession
When is Law Academy?
- August 22-25, 2019 - Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon
Where are Law Academy sessions held?
- In Atlanta, with Academy venues including the Hampton Inn & Suites and State Bar of Georgia
What is the tuition for Law Academy?
- Tuition is $350 per participant
- Limited financial aid is available (see application form for details)
- Academy tuition covers the following:
- Students are responsible for their own dinner on Thursday evening before the opening Law Academy session begins
How do I apply for Law Academy?
- Complete the initial application online: www.cognitoforms.com/HighSchoolMockTrial/_2019lawacademyapplication
- Then, download the Academy Packet. Complete it in the PDF directly and print it off the necessary pages.
- Bring the signed forms, along with tuition payment, to check-in on August 22. Any financial aid awards will be communicated prior to the Academy. Tuition can be paid by check (made out to the State Bar of Georgia) or credit card (use the form in the packet to provide information).
What is the schedule for Law Academy?
THURSDAY, August 22
- 5-7:00 p.m. Student Registration in Lobby of the Hampton Inn & Suites
- 8-10 p.m. Opening session
FRIDAY, August 22
- Morning: Legal Tour of Georgia Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, Lunch
- Afternoon: General Session and Breakout Sessions
- Evening: Dinner and General Session; Study period/social time
SATURDAY, August 24
- Morning: General Session and Breakout Sessions, Lunch
- Afternoon: General and Breakout Sessions
- Evening: Dinner and General and Break-Out Sessions; Study period/social time
SUNDAY, August 25
- Morning: Breakfast and checkout of hotel; Student Bar Examination
- Afternoon: Closing Assembly at State Bar of Georgia (open to parents and friends)
A more detailed schedule will be provided to registered students and faculty before the start of the Law Academy
General and Break-Out Sessions may focus on Team Building, Leadership Skills, Rules of Evidence, Trial Procedure, Witness Presentations and/or Trial Techniques
What is the Student Bar Examination?
- The concluding activity of the Law Academy is the administration of a required student bar examination
- The exam may be based on the Rules of the Competition, the Rules of Evidence (a simplified version of the Georgia Rules of Evidence) that govern the Georgia Mock Trial Competition, courtroom procedure and the case studied during the Academy
- Students admitted with each class (80-89% on exam) receive a special certificate in the spring
- Students earning very high scores (90%+) on the examination are admitted "with honors"
- The Georgia High School Student Bar Association was created in 1998 following the first annual Law Academy
What else should I know about Law Academy?
- Law Academy is a "closed campus" activity. All student participants will stay on-site overnight and must be present for all activities from the opening session on Thursday night until the closing assembly on Sunday.
- Students may not leave Law Academy for any reason during the weekend.
- Students who do not follow the written Law Academy rules outlined in the release forms, other Academy materials and/or any verbal instructions given by the Law Academy coordinators/staff during the course of the Academy risk expulsion from Law Academy and or suspension/expulsion from the 2020 High School Mock Trial competition.
- No student participant may use a vehicle during Law Academy. Car keys will be turned over to the Law Academy staff upon registration. (Keys will be placed in the hotel safe until Sunday morning.) Failure to turn over car keys will be considered a violation of the procedures of the Law Academy and will be dealt with accordingly.
- No boys are allowed in girls' rooms and no girls are allowed in boys' rooms.
- NO TOBACCO PRODUCTS, DRUGS, ALCOHOL or WEAPONS.
- Participants will not be allowed to swim in the hotel pool during Law Academy.
- Participants must bring all Law Academy materials with them, which include a notebook and case materials. Materials will be mailed or emailed to participants during the month of August. All participants are required to be familiar with the written Law Academy materials.
- Dress for Law Academy is casual. Students will walk to and from the State Bar each day, will lunch in downtown Atlanta and may walk to field trip stops. Weather is hot but also unpredictable in August so please be prepared. Comfortable walking shoes will be necessary. Dress clothes will be needed for Friday morning's court site visit.
- Students attending Law Academy will be required to sign a release form and a Code of Ethical Conduct form.
- Students are responsible for finding their own transportation from home to and from Law Academy.
- Students will be picked up at 2 p.m. on Sunday from the State Bar of Georgia.
For more information about Law Academy, contact the Mock Trial office:
Michael Nixon, Director, High School Mock Trial Competition
mocktrial@gabar.org
404-527-8779 or 800-334-6865 (ext. 779)
The Law Academy is sponsored each year by the Special Projects Task Force of the High School Mock Trial Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia.
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