Apr 29, 2017 01:30 PM EDT By Ava Jones, UniversityHerald Reporter

The mock trial team at Harvard Law School won fifth place at the National Student Trial Advocacy Competition. It was held in Cleveland Ohio last March 30-April 2. This is the first time that a mock trial team from the university has won a place in the prestigious competition.

The National Student Trial Advocacy Competition is an annual event that assesses law school students' from all over the country in their capacity to participate in a mock trial competition, American Associate for Justice reported. They were judged according to how they prepared the case, their opening statements, their use of facts, their examination of witnesses, and their closing arguments.

The competition was participated by 16 teams from 14 regions and Harvard Law School, which was made up of Haydn Forrest, Marilyn Robb, Kaitlyn Beck, and Rahul Garabado earned its spot in the national contest by defeating Boston in the regional level. The national round led the mock trial team to face off with some of the country's best of best, as Harvard Gazette reported, such as, Tulane University Law School, Baylor Law School, Chicago Kent College, and this year's national champion Wake Forest University School of Law.

The mock trial team was able to defeat the Boston team, which was undefeated for 15 years in a row. This is the very first time that Harvard Law School team was able to progress beyond the regional level. Not only that, both Robb and Garabadu were nominated for Best Advocate awards.

 Although this was the first time that the law school made it to the National Student Trial Advocacy Competition, it's the second time that the mock trial team to earn a national finish. Last year they won the championship at the National Trial Competition. Harvard's Mock Trial Association was only formed last year and already the organization has hundreds of law student members that are keen on participating and winning prestigious mock trial competitions all over the country.

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