The Heschel School’s mock trial team will return to the state tournament for the second time in three years, following its recent victories in both the regional and New York City Mock Trial titles, according to a May 11 announcement.
This achievement highlights the growing interest and participation in mock trial activities at Heschel School. The event is significant as it offers students opportunities to develop legal skills, teamwork, and leadership through competitive experience.
Senior Bobby Covit said, “How surreal it’s been to start on mock trial as freshmen. I was a paralegal that year and reached the finals. We learned so much from the upperclassmen. From there stepping into greater team roles in the following years and now surpassing [the success of those] who we looked up to. This success is a wonderful bookend to our mock trial careers.”
Senior Eden Litt said, “We get an advantage because we’ve been to states before, we know everybody is excellent. We know everybody is super prepared in the same way we are. We are excited to come back and bring our whole team. We want to give the younger kids on our team the experience of having a 10-trial season, so that they can go off as we did, graduate and really excel.” Faculty coach David Steinberg noted that since their win in 2023, student interest has grown significantly with tryouts quadrupling in size.
Senior Pierce Malter said, “Family and friends are coming to our matches to sit in the court. We’ve had the most spectators this year than we have ever seen.” Senior Hannah Wurzburger added, “In our freshman year, we became very good friends with each other and with some of the surrounding schools at States. We were all very encouraging of each other and supportive, and it was a great opportunity to meet new people. I think our school in general is very community-oriented and that closeness totally translates to our team.”
The New York State Bar Association Mock Trial program marks its 44th year of competition with participation from about 400 teams involving around 4,000 high school students this year. The program receives sponsorship from NYSBA’s Law, Youth & Citizenship Committee along with funding support from The New York Bar Foundation.
The New York State Bar Association fosters cultural well-being by promoting equal access to justice through public understanding initiatives; uses its Albany Bar Center for administrative operations; includes members across all U.S states as well as over 100 countries; advances professional success while upholding rule of law; extends services beyond New York; supports legislative efforts for justice—all according to its official website.
