In the spring semester before they graduate, most law students would be expected to wind-down, anticipating the realization of their dream of earning a JD and becoming a lawyer.
Yet two enterprising 3L students, Katie Jahangiri ’26 and Mikki Ness ’26, were organizing an intra-school competition for Litigation Intensive Training (“LIT”), Lewis & Clark’s first-ever mock trial club open to all students, which they had started last fall.
“Both Katie and I really enjoyed participating in mock trial competitions,” explained Mikki Ness. “We realised that in your first year of law school you don’t get a chance to do this, and even for 2L or 3L students, the spots for mock trial teams are few.”
“So we decided to create a mock trial club,” said Katie Jahangiri. “We remembered being 1Ls, in the midst of 1L readings, and craving this sort of courtroom activity. Our goal was to train teams and then hold a competition. Thanks to support from Professor Jo Perini-Abbott and others we realized that goal and then some.”
The idea for LIT was born during the 2025 Mock Trial Tryouts, when Mikki and Katie watched more than thirty students compete for a handful of coveted spots on the Lewis & Clark Mock Trial Team. Realizing that the demand for trial skills training exceeded the opportunities available for 1Ls, the two got to work. That summer, they drafted a criminal-law case file to introduce at the first LIT meeting, which would serve as the mock case for each skills session and the case they would use for the competition. They began spreading the word, thinking it would be great if twenty students signed up. To their shock, about 60 first-year students—along with a handful of second and third year students—joined the club.
One of the first people to join LIT was Cameron Tow, a current 1L. “I can trace a direct path from my decision to join LIT to most of the best experiences and accomplishments of my 1L year. Through LIT I met people, made friends, and did things that have collectively made a massive impact on not just my 1L year, but my long-term career,” said Cameron.
Every month, Katie and Mikki trained the students, sharing all that they learned from their own competition experience to prepare them for the Spring 2026 LIT Competition. This two-day mock trial tournament drew 28 participants.
“The vision for LIT was more ambitious than almost any other organization on campus, and it completely followed through on that enormous promise. I’ve never seen so much organic excitement and effort as I did for the Spring competition. Students put hundreds of collective hours into preparing and the results were incredible,” said Cameron, who served on a defense team during the competition.
The top two teams advanced to the final round held in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman at her Mark O.Hatfield Courthouse courtroom in downtown Portland.
“Being able to argue in front of a federal judge at the federal courthouse makes you realize that all the studying and classes that may consume you during law school is for something,” said Brooke Wolanin, a current 1L, LIT member, and one of the students who competed in the final round at the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse. Regarding her time in LIT, Brooke said that it was an “unforgettable experience that truly made [her] confident in growing [her] advocacy skills.’
“These two remarkable students inspired 60 other students,” remarked Advocacy Director and Professor Jo Perini-Abbott. “One student had never thought about litigation and is now all in on a career in litigation.”
As Mikki and Katie get ready to graduate this May, they have appointed new student leaders to continue growing LIT and encourage 1Ls to gain trial advocacy experience. The 2026-2027 LIT Leadership Board includes Cameron Tow (President), Meghan Sweeney (Communications Director), McKinzie Millard (Treasurer), and Brooke Wolanin (Competition Director). All four—along with five other LIT members—also made the 2026-2027 Lewis & Clark Mock Trial Team.
“I’m really looking forward to extending the reach of LIT to more upper division students, partnering with other campus organizations for events, and adding more competition and simulation opportunities for anyone excited enough to put in the hours,” said Cameron, remarking on his excitement to serve as LIT President. “Katie and Mikki set an incredibly high bar, but also built a strong foundation to allow us to exceed that level.”
Both Mikki and Katie competed on the Mock Trial Team during their 2L and 3L years. They both competed in the TYLA National Trial Competition, the Buffalo-Niagara Trial Competition, and most recently, despite traveling as student coaches, they spontaneously competed against UCLA during the 2026 Chapman University National Criminal Trial Competition when a competitor team had to suddenly withdraw for medical concerns. Katie also competed in the 2026 American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition. This year, Mikki and Katie are receiving the Justice Robert E. Jones Award for outstanding achievement and promise in courtroom performance. Next year, the two will remain actively involved as coaches to the Mock Trial Team and Advisors to LIT.
