Mock Trial is a beloved club at Hutchison that appeals to students with many interests. Emma Goughnour ’25 says, “I think a lot of people assume that Mock Trial is just for people who are super into law and stuff like that…I’m really interested in rhetoric and communication and how you put on a convincing trial, a lot of that has to do with how convincing you can be and how you present yourself.” Though many people believe Mock Trial is only for people who are interested in being lawyers, that is not the case. Mock Trial is a great way to improve your communication skills and learn how to present yourself in different situations. Abby Livingston ’28 says, “People should do Mock Trial to be better at public speaking…public speaking is a skill that you will need in any field.” Emma says, “I think for anybody who needs to be persuasive in their career, you should do Mock Trial.” Mock Trial has many different roles people can be, which appeal to people with many different interests. A large part of Mock Trial is acting. “Our witnesses are really great for improv experience…your responsibility is to take [your character] into life, so for a lot of theatrical people that’s great.” says Emma Goughnour.

Mock Trial was originally started at Hutchison in the early 2000s, but it was stopped until a few years ago, Isabel Mansour ’23 and Lorelai Forgette ’23 brought it back, supported by Mrs. Nair and Mr. Reynolds. Since then, it has been an important part of the Hutchison community. Last year, the club passed a big milestone. They had so many people join that they had to have a second team in competition! Emma Goughnour says, “A lot of schools like MUS and Saint Mary’s and Lausanne, they bring an A team, B team, and C team…last year was our first year doing two teams.” While it was a chaotic transition, it ultimately brought the teams closer.

People join Mock Trial for many reasons. Some girls come into it because they are very interested in law, while others join to hang out with their friends and have fun. Abby Livingston says, “I joined Mock Trial to have fun and grow with my friends.” Mock Trial is a wonderful way to spend time with friends while also learning new and exciting things. Emma Goughnour joined Mock Trial as a freshman because she wanted to do something involving acting, but she was not able to do the Hutchison play that year. Emma says, “Somebody told me that Mock Trial…it was like improv and I kind of liked improv.” Since then, her love for Mock Trial has grown and it has become something she dedicates a lot of her time to, especially when she could be doing other things. Emma says, “Having people as a team who were older than me and our sponsors and everybody believing in you and knowing that you can do something is what really sold me.”