Collaboration, hard work and heart fuel FIU Law trial teams

Passion. Principles. Perseverance. FIU College of Law trial teams relied on these foundational tenets to power their recent wins at two premier mock trial competitions for law students.

Alexa Hernandez, Benjamin Sly, Scott Paula, Sydney Ross and Lucian Pita competed over three days to win this year’s Chester Bedell competition, considered the Super Bowl of state mock trial competitions.

Preparing for six weeks, sacrificing every weekend and winter break to practice with each other and their coaches, the team honed their witness examination skills and perfected their opening and closing arguments to defeat top teams from Florida.

This year’s case file featured a wrongful death claim against a school where an 8-year-old was struck by a car and killed after being dropped off at a bus stop. During the competition, the FIU trial team took turns representing the plaintiff and the defendant, thus litigating both sides of the case.

Hernandez credits her team’s success to Professor H.T. Smith’s lessons on humility and good sportsmanship, as well as the mock trial itself which tests participants’ adaptability, quick character assessments and strategy. “I’m going to be a better attorney because of the trial team program,” Hernandez says. She adds, “It prepares you in ways that a lot of things in law school don’t. It prepares you for the real world, for the practical side of the law. I think it’s been the most meaningful thing that I’ve done in law school.”

Likewise, teammate Sly extols the “valuable life lessons” that the program has taught him. With six competitions under his belt, he has become the consummate team player. “The point of trial or being part of a team is coming together for something bigger than ourselves,” Sly explains. He describes the trial advocacy program as a uniquely nurturing ecosystem, full of “genuine, authentic people who really care. We’re growing together and no one [gets] left behind. It’s taught me about the importance of lifting people up and what a working team environment should be like.”

Following the Bedell competition win in February, Sly also competed in and won the Annapolis Regional Championship of AAJ this March. Teammates included Callie Moore, Michael Leatherman and Rachel Cross.

AAJ Regionals – which FIU won in 2022, 2023, and 2025 – took place over three days and followed a similar format to Bedell. This year’s case file featured a wrongful death claim brought against a corporation that owned and managed a shopping mall with a parking lot.

Having beat the no. 1 team from Stetson, Sly refuses to be outworked by the competition in preparation of Nationals. “We’re not resting on our laurels or the vanity of complacency,” he states.

Moore echoes this sentiment, pushing herself hard “to reach the level” of her teammates. Having given up spring break to prepare for regionals, Moore describes the experience as transformative: “We had a different level of confidence that can’t be taught. It’s from practicing and practicing and putting in the hard work. You could see the shift in how we competed in our first round versus the final round.”

While praising the collaborative effort that fueled her team’s victory and their collective work ethic, she singles out Smith for his unparalleled insights and guidance, labeling him “a legend.”

The founding director of a nationally ranked Top 20 Trial Advocacy Program, Smith originally intended to teach for a couple of years. 23 years later (and counting), he says, “I fell in love with my students.”

Beyond the logistics of competing, Smith teaches his students “human dynamics” – how to act from a place of “pathos,” guided by “ethos”; how to “lose with honor and win with integrity.” He beams with pride at his students’ recent wins and their commitment to steady improvement. Smiling conspiratorially, Smith underscores the most valuable lesson that he hopes to impart: “Be the best at getting better.”

Clearly, his students have taken these lessons to heart.

The AAJ trial team is currently in New Orleans, LA for the National Finals, where they are competing against 19 other teams, including UCLA, Temple, Notre Dame and Northwestern, from March 26-29.