Judge At HIT XV

IMG_0047

image

IMG_0047

1/6

What is HIT?

The Hilltop Invitational Tournament (HIT) is an undergraduate mock trial tournament that offers pre-law students the opportunity to gain trial experience before law school. For fifteen years Georgetown University has hosted this tournament in the heart of DC at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Each year, we bring together students from top universities across North America. Volunteering to judge at HIT means you are helping foster the next generation of legal talent. To learn more about what judging looks like and how to register to be a judge, keep reading below!

Why Should you judge HIT?

1. Make an Impact
Judging at HIT allows you to help shape and inspire the next generation of legal advocates, leaders, and professionals.

2. Complete Volunteer Hours
Judging at HIT is a great way to meaningfully impact your community while logging volunteer hours for your firm, degree, or personal life.

3. It's fun!
We might be just a little biased, but judging HIT is fun and exciting. Just take a look at some of our past testimonials below!

4. Be the judge
Are you a lawyer or law student? Judging HIT gives you the opportunity to be the judge. No more scrambling or stressing during objection battles or sweating through cross-examination. Have the chance to run your own courtroom.

5. Catered Meals
It's not speculation to say everyone likes free food. As a thank you, we cater breakfast and lunch for our judges each day of our tournament.

Georgetown University Law Center Campus

Past judge Testimonials

Hear from the professionals about why they loved their experience judging at HIT!

"I have found HIT to be an especially fun tournament, as the high caliber of competition provides plenty of opportunities to connect with former colleagues, meet like-minded people in the profession, and enjoy excellent rounds of mock trial!"

Audrey Wills

Current Law Student

"Georgetown’s HIT tournament is fantastic! It is so much fun to stay involved with mock trial, impart some wisdom, and meet people from all professions—all down the street from our nation’s Capitol!"

Katelyn Rickert

Legislative Assistant & Former Competitor

"HIT is such a well run tournament. The level of professionalism, dedication, and commitment that each student exhibited whether they were performing or running things behind the scenes was unmatched! Such an incredible opportunity to stay connected to a life changing activity!”

Sandra Polanco

Paralegal & Former Mock Trial Competitor

"It has been so fun to watch driven and talented students tackle complex case problems and do it with ease. I've enjoyed judging at HIT and getting a chance to help and inspire pre-law students. I would reccommend it to anyone interested!"

Steele Schoeberl

Legal Analyst & Former Mock Trial Competitor

What is my role as a judge?

In each round, there are two types of judges: the presiding judge and the scoring judge. Presiding Judge: You act like a real trial judge. Your responsibilities include keeping the trial running smoothly, ruling on objections, and maintaining courtroom decorum. Scoring Judge: Your role is to carefully evaluate the performance of the attorneys and witnesses. You’ll use a ballot to assign scores for the different aspects of the trial (i.e. opening statements, examinations, closing arguments) Sometimes presiding judges will also act as a scoring Judge. You will be able to select your judging preferences upon registering for HIT XV.
Who will I be judging?

The competitive field at HIT is comprised of pre-law students from top universities across North America. The competitions you judge will be strong orators, presenters, and actors. Upon registering to judge HIT, we make note of any conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of any prior involvement with collegiate mock trial organizations. Therefore, all competitors will be unknown to you.
How much experience to I need to be a judge?

To judge a round of mock trial, you must fall into at least one of the following categories: Former AMTA Competitor Current Law Student Former Law Student Current Legal Professional (Lawyer, Judge, Litigator, etc.) Former Legal Professional There is no requirement to be familiar with mock trial or the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) to judge at HIT. All judges will receive a brief a training session on the day-of covering how rounds of mock trial work and what to look for when scoring rounds.
What does the time commitment look like?

Judging at HIT is a flexible time commitment—you can judge anywhere from 1 to 4 rounds across the tournament weekend. Times vary based on the tournament day, but exact times can be found on our judge registration form. Rounds will never last more than three hours, and most end around 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Can I register more than one team?

Unless otherwise noted in your invitation, each program invited my register one team. By request, an additional team may be added to a waitlist. To add a team to the waitlist, please indicate such in your RSVP. The waitlist for second teams will be on a first-come, first-served basis so the quicker you respond the more likely you are to be able to bring a second team.
How can I pay my tournament fee?

A tournament fee of $375 can be paid through venmo or check. Check Please make the check payable to “Georgetown University Mock Trial” and mail to: Nate Schindler 1665 35th St. NW Washington, DC 20007 *If you send a check, please email us when you have sent it so we can notify you when we receive your payment. Venmo For Venmo payments, please send your registration to our treasurer @selim_kim1 In your memo, please write “[School Name] - HIT Payment” (If you are sending more than one team, please make sure to list if your payment is for one or both teams as well). PayPal For PayPal Payments, we have emailed you a separate invoice through PayPal. Please let us know if you haven’t received it.
Should my program attend HIT XV?

Is that even a question? HIT XV is set to be our best tournament yet: a weekend built by competitors, for competitors. We are hosting 26 of the most competitive programs on the circuit for our first international tournament!
What is the structure of HIT?

HIT follows a 2-2 tournament schedule—two rounds each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Openings will be hosted virtually the thursday before tournament weekend. Closings will start ASAP post round 4.

Have any additional Questions? Reach out!

Tournament Email: tournament.gumocktrial@gmail.com