June 8, 2015
When Nicholas Cooper '15 steps into the courtroom this fall as a newly-minted Queens ADA, it’ll be a homecoming of sorts. “I can remember sitting in the Belson Moot Court Room jury box with my parents on Admitted Students Day,” he says. “Students were putting on a short mock trial and it was riveting. From that moment, I knew exactly what I wanted to do in law school.”
Since its launch in 2002, the Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute (PTAI) has provided St. John’s Law students with diverse opportunities to participate in trial training programs, competitions, and trial-related legal writing forums that promote and support St. John's reputation as a leader in the field of trial advocacy. This year, PTAI ended its competition season with an impressive record that included four championships and two visits to nationals. Along the way, five of its student advocates earned individual awards for their outstanding trial skills.
Looking back on his three years with PTAI—capped by a year as externals director—Cooper recalls the thrill of his first 1L competition. “It was like a chess match mixed with legal concepts, creative thinking, and showmanship,” he shares. “I was hooked.” Over the years, as he participated in competitions across the country, his trial advocacy skills grew. “I got infinitely more comfortable speaking on my feet,” he says. “I learned to think more creatively; I developed control over my volume and my attitude; I became more adept at working with others; and I learned how to cross examine—now I can't seem to stop doing it, even in everyday life.”
Carolynn Fitzgerald '15, who served as PTAI’s managing director this year, is also taking the trial advocacy skills she honed at St. John’s to the professional arena as a Queens ADA. Although she had some interest in trial work coming into law school, it wasn’t until she joined PTAI at the start of her 2L year that her career path became clear. And she credits her competition coaches—mostly PTAI alumni volunteers—for helping her become a better advocate. “They taught me the mechanics of courtroom advocacy,” she says, “from cross and direct to preparation and professionalism. These skills have carried over to give me an advantage I otherwise wouldn’t have at the outset of my career.”
As she prepares to start her career in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Caitlyn Jaile '15—PTAI’s outgoing special events director—recalls that she almost didn’t show up to her PTAI tryout as a 2L because she was concerned about the time commitment. Fortunately, she says, she ran into classmate Megan Leo ’15 who convinced her to go. “To this day I still tell Megan how thankful I am that I ran into her the night before my tryout,” Jaile says. “I have PTAI to thank for my confidence as an advocate and as an individual, and for my career as a prosecutor. Before all my DA office interviews, I was on the phone with my PTAI coaches reviewing hypotheticals, crafting responses to questions, and running opening statements. It’s an incredible support system.”
Megan Leo agrees and, as she heads to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, she says that the great teamwork and camaraderie were highlights of her time in PTAI. “Although we all worked hard as a team, we also bonded outside of practices and competitions, doing things like softball tournaments and PTAI socials.” As Leo rose from internal to external competition, she also gained confidence. “I definitely felt shy at first,” she says. “But the PTAI coaches are so knowledgeable about courtroom dynamics. They helped me develop my own style and sense of myself as a capable advocate.”
Like her PTAI classmates, Maryanne Kaishian '15 believes that the organization offers St. John’s Law students “the most practical courtroom experience someone can have in law school.” As she leaves her post as PTAI’s internal director for a dream-fulfilling career as a public defender with Brooklyn Defender Services, Kaishian says that PTAI has given her the skills and courtroom awareness she needs to succeed. “One of the greatest skills that PTAI has helped me hone is the ability to respond quickly, clearly, and persuasively,” she shares. “Trials rarely, if ever, go exactly as the advocating attorneys anticipate they will. Through PTAI, I developed the ability to think on my feet and to respond with confidence, even when I’m surprised by an argument being made or by testimony on the stand.”
While his path to PTAI was relatively unconventional, Joseph Muscarella '15 is grateful for the opportunity. “My story is different from most since I was a night student before switching to the full-time day program in my 2L year,” he explains. “I had very little exposure to student organizations. Luckily for me, I knew PTAI executive director Michael Schillinger from the evening division and he encouraged me to participate.” One of the highlights of his PTAI career, Muscarella says, was his team’s success at this year’s National Trial Competition hosted by the Texas Young Lawyers’ Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers. After capturing the New York regional championship, the team—which included Nick Cooper, Caitlyn O'Neill '16, and coaches Mary Kate Quinn '08 and Burton Ryan '75—advanced to nationals, where St. John’s earned the coveted Tiffany Cup, awarded by the New York State Bar Association Trial Lawyers' Section to the team that goes furthest in the national competition.
“My participation in PTAI has given me a distinct advantage going into my career, which starts in the Queens District Attorney’s Office this fall,” Muscarella says. His teammate and soon-to-be co-worker, Nick Cooper, feels the same way. “Participating in PTAI set me apart from hundreds of other applicants to the Queens DA. It was formative experience, it was the most rewarding thing I did in law school, and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.”