With 85 dense sheets of information sprawled across the library tables, students review content until their case becomes second nature. They confer and consume minute details for weeks on end, just for the process to start anew for their next trial. For the first time in over a decade, WA Mock Trial has had to take on this challenge without any professional help. Despite such a detrimental setback, their dedication has prevailed.
After their trial against Lowell Catholic High School on Jan. 29, WA Mock Trial emerged as regional winners, sweeping their competition 3-0 in knockout trials and advancing to the State Tournament on March 2 at Clark University. This feat comes especially esteemed after losing their longtime Mock Trial advisor Jonathan Meagher due to recent budget cuts, while also missing the assistance of an attorney coach.
“This is huge for our team to make it as far as we did. We had a lot of close trials,” senior captain Heer Mehta said. “I think we were all very grateful to be able to make it this far, but also just so proud of our team and all our effort.”
WA Mock Trial also won regionals during their 2023-2024 season, but they were unable to secure the State title. This year, after a few local scrimmages, the group went undefeated against Lowell High School, Chelmsford High School, and Lowell Catholic High School, propelling them to States once again. This came after a momentary loss of hope for the team’s continuation, as they faced a difficult search to find a willing advisor.
In his final year at WA, Meagher attempted to survey staff members in search of a new advisor for WA Mock Trial but found no luck. Hoping to salvage the group and community built within it, Dean Betsy Murphy emailed staff at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year in a last-ditch effort to find a new advisor. Student support teacher Jennifer Schelin stepped up and volunteered, authorizing the group to continue their season.
“[Schelin] is honestly so motivating. She comes to all our trials, cheering us on,” junior captain Joanna Finney said. “At this point, she’s like our emotional support.”
Starting the year as just a supervisor to keep the club running, Schelin’s role has quickly transformed to include multiple responsibilities. She organizes permission slips, communicates with Mock Trial Central, and even took a training course to better prepare. According to Schelin, she isn’t particularly versed in the logistics of high school mock trials, the students’ dedication and enthusiasm for the club has inspired her to become one of their biggest supporters.
“Watching them compete was amazing because I could see their excitement and wanting to do well, and at the same time, they were learning, taking notes, and correcting things for the next time,” Schelin said. “They were using it as a true learning experience […]. It’s been amazing to watch. Amazing.”
Although Schelin’s support has been vital to the club’s success, one of the biggest difficulties of losing professional assistance is the team’s limited ability to find schools to compete against. Because a majority of trials in previous years were arranged through Meagher’s connections, the team is now limited in their ability to find willing opponents. They have also lost many key senior members like 2024 graduate Rhythm Arora, and are focusing on fostering connection and growth within the new community.
Still, the captains and team keep Meagher’s teachings close to heart, repeating his mantras to prepare themselves for a trial. By maintaining his mentality — “If you go down in flames, do it confidently”— WA Mock Trial has been able to continue channeling success.
Mock Trial members have alternatively tried to find the bright side to losing their professional support. With multiple meetings throughout the week, cumulatively six hours, they have been forced to adapt to evaluating problems as a team.
“I think in a lot of ways our team evolved. We are [now] independent and that’s a more positive way [of] looking at it,” Finney said. “Before, me and a lot of other people were very dependent on Mr. Meagher […]. And now I’m just so much more independent.”
Though the captains note this Mock Trial season posed slightly harder competition, the team spent the first semester honing in on each affidavit and every testimony, and memorizing the foundations of each case. Most importantly, WA Mock Trial focuses on preparing members for cross-examination from the other team, which proves to be one of the most unpredictable aspects of a trial.
“I think the hardest part of Mock is you have to learn yourself; you have to know yourself,” Finney said. “The hardest part is having the confidence to stand up there and articulate your thoughts.”
Emerging as regional winners, WA Mock Trial expresses a universal satisfaction and overwhelming sense of pride to see their efforts pay off. Schelin is right behind them, cheering them on.
“[Watching them win] was like my favorite team won the Super Bowl […],” Schelin said. “To be able to do that without a teacher coach is huge. It also says a lot about their previous coach [Meagher].”
Setting their sights on the upcoming State Tournament where they will compete against 28 teams, the captains are simply proud to have made it this far. However, there is one thing that remains an ongoing goal of the team.
“There’s two trials, a morning trial and an afternoon trial [at States], and if you win the morning trial, you get free lunch,” Mehta said. “We’ve never, ever in the history of this Mock Trial team of Westford Academy, gotten the free lunch. This year, we’re getting the free lunch.”
Though the team has already had a successful season, they are nowhere near finished. Striving to continue cultivating future speakers, lawyers, and confident individuals, WA Mock Trial keeps high spirits for future members.
“We end up doing law, but you learn so much outside of that [from Mock Trial],” senior captain Hailey Phan said. “The team is an amazing group of people; we spend so much time together. You learn about public speaking, social cues, and so much more.”
