American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach Campus Pre-Law Program Wins 2023 Florida State High School Mock Trial Competition
American Heritage Schools has announced that its Palm Beach Campus Mock Trial Team has won the Florida High School Mock Trial Competition for the second consecutive year, making them state champions. The team also received the Outstanding Professionalism and Ethics Award for legal advocacy, as voted by coaches and students. Furthermore, the team captain and a senior at American Heritage Schools, Jonah Samara was awarded the Outstanding Witness Award.
The American Heritage Schools Pre-Law students and team, led by attorney coaches Kelly Harris, Adam McMichael, Rinku Tribuiani, and Ani Porter, competed successfully in every round, excelling as prosecution and defense. The team members include Daniel Bednar (senior), Lindsay Brauner (junior), Pooja Gudoor (junior), Maia Merkel-Leavitt (sophomore), Bryan Li (junior), Sophia Reynoso (sophomore), Jonah Samara (senior), and Anna Shullman (junior). The team will represent Florida at the Little Rock, Arkansas national competition, from May 18-21.
The Florida High School Mock Trial Program was established in 1991 by Annette Boyd Pitts and former Florida Bar Executive Director Marshall Cassedy. The program has produced hundreds of graduates who have attended law school and become members of the Florida Bar or other state bar associations. Through the program, students acquire critical thinking skills, legal reasoning, analysis, professionalism, and understanding the structure and function of the courts and the legal process.
The American Heritage Schools’ Pre-Law program is a four-year honors program exclusively taught by practicing attorneys and judges. Each year, students take unique law school-level courses, including Trial Advocacy, Constitutional Law, Homicide Law, and Criminal Law, which are not offered by any other high school. The program culminates in a senior year internship, where students experience law practice in real-life situations. Seniors get the opportunity to visit different law firms, agencies, offices, and courtrooms throughout South Florida and meet practicing judges and attorneys, making invaluable connections that can result in future law school clerkships and internships.
Attorney Ani Porter, Pre-Law Program Director at the Palm Beach Campus, expressed her excitement at the team’s success and stated their emphasis on preparation, determination, teamwork, and an ethical, productive, and inclusive environment, contributed to their achievements. The American Heritage Schools’ Mock Trial team has remained undefeated in Palm Beach County for nine years and won the 2022 Yale Bulldog Competition and the back-to-back 2021 and 2022 Providence Cup Champions in Denver, highlighting their exceptional performance.
