From left: Connor Greene, Stephanie Gerstetter, Erin Kuhfuss, and Kristen Farr Capizzi

The Chicago-Kent College of Law trial advocacy team of Kristen Farr Capizzi ’18, Stephanie Gerstetter ’18, Connor Greene ’18, and Erin Kuhfuss ’17 has won the Chicago regional championship of the 2017 American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition. Chicago-Kent will compete against the top teams from 13 other regions in the national finals Thursday, March 30 through Sunday, April 2 in Cleveland.

In the preliminary rounds, Chicago-Kent defeated teams from Northern Illinois University College of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, and Drake University Law School. In the semifinal and final rounds, they bested two teams from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law to win the championship. Chicago-Kent finished the competition 5-0.

Capizzi graduated with a B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gerstetter earned a B.A. in political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Greene graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in political science. Kuhfuss earned a B.A. in political science and government from Miami University in Ohio.

The team was coached by alumni John Montelongo ’91, Nicholas Economakos ’12, and Nicolette Ward ’16. A second Chicago-Kent team of Krista Krepp ’18, Dalia Labrador ’17, Paige Olsen ’17, and Daniel Sanders ’17 performed well through the preliminary rounds and narrowly missed the semifinal cut.

The American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) is a broad-based, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students.

Chicago-Kent’s trial advocacy teams have won numerous individual student honors and regional and national competitions. In the most recent U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings, Chicago-Kent’s Trial Advocacy Program is ranked fourth in the country.