Hubbell said Trinity’s 10th-place finish was tremendous. “Nobody had really heard of Trinity. It was kind of fun to come out of nowhere and beat some big schools.” Hubbell described the Trinity students as “very smart, very focused, and a very enjoyable group.”

Indeed, this group of high achievers needed to be very focused, having spent countless hours, weeks, and months practicing in anticipation of the grand finale. In placing 10th, Trinity defeated larger colleges and universities, many of them having law schools and full-time coaches. At the finals, Trinity competed against the University of Notre Dame; the University of California, Santa Cruz; Macalester College; and Northwestern University.

As part of the competition—which focused on a criminal case last year and on a civil case this year—schools are given a large packet of information and have to create case theories and arguments both as the prosecutors and the defense attorneys. Students serve as lawyers and as witnesses, while being scored by practicing attorneys or judges.

Green, who will attend Fordham Law School in the fall, helped create the mock trial team when he arrived at Trinity, inspired by his father, Eric Green, a personal injury lawyer in New York City.

“There’s no way that I would have done this if it hadn’t been for my father,” said Green.

He said the team’s three seniors intend to donate the trophy they earned to Trinity, the first of many they hope will eventually fill the trophy case.

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