PHILADELPHIA – Stradley Ronon is pleased to announce the firm partnered with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to co-host a mock trial for high school students from the New Jersey Law & Education Empowerment Program (NJ LEEP) at Seton Hall Law School. Members of the firm’s litigation department, Andrew Hamelsky, Zaara Bajwa Nazir, Jenifer Scarcella, Javier Gonzalez and Aris Rotella, organized and coached the students through the mock trial exercise involving charges against a ride-sharing service driver for theft of a passenger's bank withdrawal.
Split into two groups - prosecution and defense - Hamelsky, Nazir, Scarcella, Gonzalez, Rotella and Horizon's legal department coached the students and helped develop a theme for their case. The students then presented a mini mock trial at the Seton Hall Law School Mock Trial Room consisting of openings, direct and cross-examination and closings. Demonstrating poise, tenacity and quick-thinking in their presentations and responses, the students made compelling arguments, identified and responded to their adversary's most vital points and developed their communication and presentation skills.
Since 2006, NJ LEEP has been empowering youth to perform at high academic levels by building academic and social-emotional skills, creating opportunities to develop the habits they need to succeed and preparing them for the high professional standards expected of them in college and beyond. NJ LEEP's program focuses on providing access to college and setting students up for success for those who are first-generation and low-income students and families in the greater Newark area. With a 100% high school graduation rate, they help students identify meaningful goals and pave their path to success. NJ LEEP provides a college-bound program that gives students access to life-skill courses, ACT/SAT prep classes, after-school and summer programming and internships. The six participating students are summer interns at Horizon's legal department.
Stradley Ronon’s litigation team routinely handles high-risk, high-stakes litigation in a wide array of matters spanning state and federal courts, before governmental agencies, and in international and domestic arbitrations. From pre-litigation planning through discovery, trial and appeal, our litigators become steeped in and allied with our clients’ business goals and stay focused on the end game: delivering results. Taking a value-driven, practical approach, armed with the confidence of taking scores of cases to verdict, we deliver consistent and cost-effective results against some of the largest law firms in the country.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in seven strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.