Laddey Clark & Ryan Attorney Leads Newton High School Team in Statewide Mock Trial Program

On February 25, 2020, the Newton High School Mock Trial team will compete in the Northern Region Finals of the Vincent J. Apruzzese NJ High School Mock Trial Competition. The team’s volunteer attorney coach is Travis W. Nunziato, a lawyer in Laddey, Clark and Ryan’s Personal Injury Practice Group.

This season marks Travis’ third year volunteering as coach to Newton’s team. Last year, for the first time in the school’s history, the team won the Sussex County Championship and the Northern Region Championship, placing third overall out of 215 teams competing in the state. This year’s team has already successfully defended the Sussex County Champion title, and will compete on February 25 to defend the Northern Region title. Ultimately, the team hopes to advance the to the Statewide Finals held at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick on March 19. This year’s statewide fact pattern, State v. Charlie Quinn, is a fictional criminal case in which the Defendant is charged with needlessly killing a law enforcement animal.

“The New Jersey High School Mock Trial Program holds a very special place in my heart,” said Attorney Nunziato. “When I attended Newton High School, I competed on the school’s Mock Trial team, and was coached by Andrew Fraser ( a partner with Laddey, Clark & Ryan). It was my participation in the Mock Trial program that ultimately led me to pursue a career as a trial lawyer – and eventually led me to practice with Fraser at Laddey Clark & Ryan.”

 “It truly is an honor to be able to work with such bright, talented, and hard-working students,” adds Nunziato. “In many ways Mock Trial has come full circle for me. I now have the privilege of working with the attorney who coached me, and the opportunity to give back to the very program that shaped my legal career.”

Nunziato is not the only Laddey Clark & Ryan attorney to volunteer with the state’s Mock Trial Program. Janet C. Lucas, of counsel with the firm, also volunteered her time to assist with Newton’s team. Lucas’s 35 years of litigation experience helped prepare Newton’s students for the more competitive rounds of the Regional Competition. 

Additionally, Attorneys Jonathan E. McMeen and Nicole C. Tracey volunteered as judges during the preliminary rounds of the competition. 

The volunteer work of the Laddey Clark & Ryan attorneys with the High School Mock Trial Competition is just one example of the many ways Laddey Clark and Ryan strives to give back to the Community.