For many students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 参与校园活动有助于为成功的职业生涯奠定基础. For many alumni, 在UMKC期间参与模拟审判比赛使得他们从课堂到法庭的过渡特别容易.

Anthony McDaniel (B.A. ’11, J.D. ’15) and Jared Frick (J.D. 15)就有两位这样的校友，他们在模拟审判中的经历为他们今天的执业做好了准备.  两人都参加了UMKC的全国审判倡导小组，或俗称的模拟审判.

The team is a part of the UMKC School of Law Trial Advocacy Program, which is consistently ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report, this year ranking #31 – up 23 places from 2021.

该课程是为那些想成为出庭律师的学生而设计的，他们希望学习如何在没有判决压力的情况下在法庭环境中有效地代表客户.

McDaniel, now an attorney at Guin Mundorf, LLC in Kansas City, 他说他在球队的时间教会了他一些技能，这些技能将伴随他的余生, both in his career and everyday interactions.

“In trial team, they teach you how to think like a lawyer. 然后他们会教你如何运用这些技能，像律师一样出庭。”麦克丹尼尔说. “一名优秀的出庭律师要有能力捕捉大量信息，然后将其分解，以一种与人相关的方式呈现给别人，并将其提升到一个新的水平——使其具有说服力. That’s exactly what mock trial teaches you.”

麦克丹尼尔在大学期间第一次参加模拟审判比赛. That experience helped spark his interest in applying to law school. 他把他在UMKC大学生模拟审判的时间描述为法学院比赛的准备.

“In trial team, they teach you how to think like a lawyer." - Anthony McDaniel

“It teaches you how to talk like a lawyer and how to present like a lawyer, whereas in law school, you get down to the finer points about courtroom presentation and rules,” McDaniel said. “但我总是喜欢站在人们面前，试图说服他们以我的方式看待问题.”

Much the same can be said about his former teammate and friend, Frick, who was recently appointed partner at Young, Kuhl & Frick, LLC in Lee's Summit.

“What drew me to (mock trial) was the theatrics of it all. I was a musical education major for my undergrad, 所以我喜欢音乐剧和游行乐队，喜欢一切的娱乐因素,” Frick said.

Frick competed in the Last Team Standing Competition, 一年级法律系学生首先接触的是模拟审判环境, and he knew it was something he was going to continue.

“这真的很有帮助，因为当你进入未知的领域时，你必须与对方律师或客户交谈，或者出示证据, it can be nerve-racking,” Frick said. “So, 参加模拟审判让我不再那么神秘，也让我明白了没有什么神奇的公式——它只是需要练习.”

两人继续参加了包括全国选拔赛在内的几项比赛. 该比赛成立于1975年，是美国历史最悠久、最负盛名的选拔赛
the country.

在过去的十年里，UMKC法学院多次参加全国锦标赛. The competition attracts more than 140 law schools and involves more than 1,000 law students each year. Students are judged on opening statements, direct examinations, cross examinations and closing arguments.

“You learn how to tell a story,” Frick said. “你要学习如何在一个案例中构思一个主题和理论，以及如何在整个案例中实现这一点. 你要学会如何控制你的证人以及如何不问你不知道答案的问题. You learn the appropriate impeachment techniques. That all translates into real life and real practice once you graduate.”

Their team was coached by Michaelle Tobin, clinical professor of law at UMKC. She has coached mock trial for the past ten years. 托宾说，这场比赛看起来像是“迷你版的真实审判，没有了客户代表的现实压力。.”

Each team is given a case file to study and rehearse for six weeks. Tobin said teams practice and refine their arguments over that time, as well as scrimmage with one another. Competitions last about three hours from start to finish.

托宾说，整个过程的直接目的是为学生进入专业领域做准备.

“Knowing how to analyze a case, knowing how to compose an opening and closing statement, 如何做直接和交叉，这些都是你在结扎中会直接用到的技巧,” Tobin said. “We take it from opening to close, 但是你学到的是如何在法庭上表现自己——如何提问, 如何分析一个案件-即使你从未在陪审团面前审判过一个真正的案件，也会影响你所做的一切.”

托宾说，模拟审判比赛教给学生的最重要的一课就是倾听的重要性.

“When you get into practice and you have real clients, if you don’t listen to them, you are never going to be a good attorney. Listening is an essential skill, even in mock trial, where you don’t have a client but you have a teammate, a witness and a judge,” Tobin said.

Frick said Tobin is the one who taught him that.

“她教会我如何成为一个更积极的倾听者，而不是只考虑我接下来要说什么. You see that a lot in trials, and everyday life, where someone immediately responds when you make a statement. In the courtroom, if you are focusing on your next question, you are going to miss something,” he said.

“在法庭上，如果你专注于下一个问题，你就会错过一些东西.” - Jared Frick

For him, 麦克丹尼尔说，模拟审判是为了让人们明白，在法庭上不仅仅是一场表演.

“A lot of people think it’s all about public speaking or presentation, but I think if you talk to most of us who participated in trial team, they will say that’s a peripheral skill. 这更多的是关于帮助别人的愿望和理解别人的能力，”麦克丹尼尔说.

In addition to listening, 弗里克说，他今天经常使用的模拟审判教会他的最重要的事情之一是“证据规则和如何处理证据”.”

“Not only did I learn the full grasp and understanding of it, 但它也帮助我理解了如何将事物纳入证据以及如何提出适当的反对意见. 我认为很多刚从学校毕业的年轻律师都在为此挣扎, and I see it in the courtroom,” Frick said. “Because I had that experience in mock trial, right after graduation I felt really comfortable in the courtroom.”

麦克丹尼尔说，他的经历“毫无疑问”使他成为今天的出庭律师.

“我喜欢做律师的一个原因是，我们首先是解决问题的人. Trial team really taught me, whether I’m putting together a grill at my house or I’m in a courtroom, 而是把一个复杂的问题分解，再重新构建. If you can understand the pieces, you can build anything.”

麦克丹尼尔说，他现在是一名大学生模拟审判教练和兼职审判辩护教授，他使用这种思维方法——分解信息并重建信息. 

“I love being able to share the things I learned and pass that on. I have had so many students who come up to me and say, ‘I loved what we talked about because I used it an interview, and it helped me get a job recently.“这就是我有机会传递的东西，感觉真的很棒。.