Now We Here

Brad Ouambo

In a previous post, I stated Otto started from the bottom, "but there can be no debate, he's here now." From March 31-April 2, 2022, Otto and Case Western's Law School mock trial team ventured to the National Trial Competition in Fort Worth Texas. This year, two Case Western teams qualified for Nationals, earning both spots from their regionals. Otto's teammates included Elena Gutbroad and Andrew Thompson. The Case teams were coached by Brad Ouambo, Lauren Tuttle, and Sean Sweeny, who were the last trio from Case Western Law School to travel to Nationals.

From the first round, it was clear Otto's team was not going to have it easy. They faced off against Berkeley, one of the top trial schools in the country. While she was not competing on the side of the case, Maddie Driscoll of Ohio State ('20) was making her law school nationals debut. Otto's team would go on to face Texas A&M and Northwestern in the preliminary rounds. Of the 30 teams competing, only 8 would move on to the quarter finals. With a record of 3 wins and 7 ballots (out of a possible 3 wins and 9 ballots) Otto's team advanced to the quarter finals, becoming the first Case Western team to do so. Their opponent? Berkeley...again.

Like Case Western (and many other teams) Berkeley had two teams at Nationals. This Berkeley team was older and more experienced than the one Otto had faced before. This team also included Top Gun Runner Up Jenna Forster. This was a close round with Berkeley playing clean and precise mock trial, while Otto's team aggressively sought after points, sacrificing cleanliness for the hard-hitting points. The result? A nail-biting 3 ballots to 2 ballots in favor of Case Western! Otto moved on to the semi-final round. His opponent? UCLA.

To say UCLA is a stacked program is an understatement. They had sent two teams to the top 8 and were the only school to retain two teams in the semifinals. UCLA 1, the team Otto faced, included U Chicago AMTA alum Regina Campbell, who would go on to win the Best Oral Advocate Award from the tournament. Despite a valiant effort, UCLA pulled out the win. The final round was UCLA 1 v. UCLA 2 with UCLA 1 declared the winner. As a result, the only team Otto lost to all tournament was the National Champions.

I tell Otto's story not to simply gloat about one of my first students, but to highlight how some of the biggest success stories can come from the most unlikely places. At Nationals, people were coming up to me and other coaches telling us that they were rooting for our team. Case Western was the Cinderella story of this Nationals by not only sweeping its regional and sending two teams to Nationals, but by defeating some of the strongest teams along the way to become one of the top 4 teams in the country. This success story started in a little known undergraduate mock trial program that has been hustling its way up right alongside its coach. And like its coach, we started from the bottom but despite any setbacks we may face, we are definitely still here.