Monday, September 01, 2014
Andy McCarthy
Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) NWLawyer
Michael A. Guadagno, an insurance coverage and complex commercial litigation attorney at Bullivant, has been a leader with middle school and high school students in various mock trial programs. In the article titled “Teens Take On Attorneys: Mock Trials Have Real Benefits for All” in the Washington State Bar Association’s NWLawyer, Guadagno explains how Mock Trials make students better citizens. “I’ve noticed that our mock trial kids are not as quick to judge a defendant in a trial,” Guadagno observed. “They are more likely to see an ongoing trial as a genuine dispute between two parties rather than an automatic indictment of the accused. I’ve also seen this pause to quick judgment show up in other academic and social avenues among the mock trial kids.”
Guadagno developed his mock trial coaching interests at Nathan Hale High School and for the past seven years has facilitated the 8th-grade mock trial program at Villa Academy. He sees the program as reaching beyond the mere training of students in the law. Guadagno’s interest in the mock trial program extends beyond Villa Academy. He has led efforts in other Seattle-area high schools as well as the University of Washington and Seattle University of Law, his alma mater. Guadagno’s contributions to his community have been recognized by the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL) with the President’s Award for 2016.
