Competitive
Advocacy Program
California Western’s Competitive Advocacy Program (CAP) is comprised of our Trial, Appellate, Jessup, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) teams, along with the Moot Court Honors Board. CAP provides all students the opportunity to participate in advocacy workshops, intraschool competitions, trial and appellate bootcamp classes, and the chance to be a part of our advocacy teams. Our teams compete against other law schools locally, nationally, and even internationally. Students who join advocacy teams often come away from the experience having reached skill levels that match or exceed those of attorneys who have been practicing for years. Students are taught how to conduct an entire trial, cross-examine difficult witnesses, apply evidence law through objections, write appellate briefs, argue in front of and withstand questions from panels of appellate judges, and negotiate successfully. They are also taught how to work effectively and ethically with their teammates and opponents. Our students have even been offered jobs on the spot by attorneys judging their competitions! Over the past two years CAP undertook the daunting task of transitioning to a new world of online instruction and competitions. Not only did the students and coaches successfully adapt, but they have had an incredible run of victories even in the face of the pandemic
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CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW
Paul Parisi ‘06, Director of Cal Western’s Competitive Advocacy Program
and its many challenges. Some highlights included California Western becoming the ABA Negotiation National Champions, winning the local trial competition over USD, and in the prestigious Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition we were 1 of only 15 law schools from the United States (85 U.S. schools entered the competition) and the only law school from California to advance to the Global Rounds! Every win, especially on the national stage, makes other law schools more and more aware that Cal Western and our students are an advocacy force to be reckoned with. In December of 2019 Mario Conte retired after leading the program for over 15 years and alumnus Paul Parisi took over as Director of CAP. Paul was a Deputy Public Defender in San Diego for many years. He is one of the initial advocacy students that worked with Mario to help create the current structure of the advocacy program and has coached over 15 trial teams and has taught trial skills as an adjunct professor since he graduated Cal Western in 2006, so he has a vested interest in the ongoing success of the program. If you would like more info about CAP or want to learn more ways that you can support the advocacy students’ efforts, please feel free to reach out to Paul at PParisi@cwsl.edu.
