Each year, the London Area Committee of the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), in partnership with the Ontario Bar Association and local volunteers, organizes a mock trial tournament for local high schools at the London, Ontario courthouse. Teams from the city and surrounding Middlesex areas participate by putting a team of crown attorneys and defence lawyers forward to litigate an interesting criminal every spring. This project provides students with a fantastic opportunity to learn about Canada’s justice system, to explore possible career paths, and of course to engage in a little friendly competition with each other!

As a member of the local OJEN area committee, Eric Vallillee has been an organizer of this event for the past three years. In the past, he has also either coached a team or judged rounds at the tournament, and this year he was pleased to return as a lawyer coach for AB Lucas Secondary School’s team, who won their second championship.

We’d like to congratulate AB Lucas on their most recent win, as well as all of the teams who did such a fantastic job making this year’s competition a very close one. As the Honourable Mr. Justice Grace told participants after this year’s final round, the students who participated did a remarkable job and showed off some seriously impressive advocacy skills.

If you know of a school or student who would be interested in participating in next year’s London/Middlesex high school mock trials, please click here for more information, or contact our office to find out how to get involved.