New Member Selection
Membership Responsibilities
Faculty Advisors
Through the Trial Advocacy Honors Program (TAHP), members ("Advocates") have developed the important litigation skills
and valuable confidence necessary to excel in trial advocacy since the program was created in 1994.
- Learn to express their creativity in a simulated trial atmosphere
- Develop a mastery of the rules of evidence
- Learn to present arguments with composure and poise
TAHP teams participate in national and regional mock trial competitions, consisting of both criminal and civil
trials, throughout the academic year. Advocates compete in some of the nation's most prestigious
invitation-only competitions, judged by distinguished members of the
bench and bar.
- Case preparation
- Arguing pre-trial motions and preliminary matters
- Presenting opening and closing statements
- Conducting direct and cross examinations of witnesses
- Introducing and using exhibits
New Member Selection
Selection
for the program is based on performance in the annual TAHP Tryout
Competition, held each September. Competitors must advance through two
(2) rounds of mock trial and an interview with TAHP's Board of Governors.
- Completion of the first year of law school
- Be in good academic standing
- Current enrollment in or prior completion of a course in Evidence
- TAHP members may not participate in Moot Court and members may not serve on the Board of Governors for any other honors program
View the New Member Info for more information.
Membership Responsibilities
During the first year of membership, Junior Advocates:- Earn three (3) units in the spring semester through enrollment in the TAHP Trial Advocacy course
- Are
paired with Senior Advocate mentors, who they shadow during competition
preparation, as well as serving as witnesses or jury members
- Compete in the John G. Bonelli Intramural Competition in the Spring Semester
View the New Member Info for details of responsibilties by semester.
- Earn two (2) units through enrollment in the TAHP Advanced Trial Advocacy course and holding office hours
- Earn one (1) unit for attending at least one national trial competition
Faculty Advisors
TAHP Advocates have the privilege of being trained by Southwestern faculty
whose dedication to the program has made it what it is today.
- Adjunct Professor Joseph P. Esposito, a Southwestern Alumnus and Head Deputy of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Major Narcotics Division
- Adjunct Professor Bill Seki, a Southwestern Alumnus and former prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, who is a founding partner at the litigation firm Seki, Nishimura & Watase, LLP
- Professor Karen R. Smith, who began her career as a prosecutor for the California Attorney General's Office, and later became a Senior Deputy Federal Public Defender for the State and then the Federal Public Defender's Office
For a current list of members, faculty advisors and coaches, click here.
