As you may know, the law kids went to New York and Atlanta for EMPIRE, a mock trial program that occurs annually. I went on the New York trip, as well as many other juniors and seniors from Spain Park High School! We received a case to read and perform in late July, and have been working on it since school started this year. There are many roles that a student can take in this trial, including playing an attorney, a witness, a guest witness, performing a statement, or arguing the pre-trial oral argument. This all seems pretty crazy, but through a lot of diligent practice every Monday and Thursday, the law students were able to break it down and have it perfectly memorized by the time we left on October 9.
So, let’s talk about New York itself. The city that never sleeps, New York City. We stayed at the Hilton in Midtown, which was right in the middle of the city. We were only a few blocks away from Times Square and a short walk away from the busy 5th avenue. But one of the biggest issues we ran into in New York was the cost. Going from low prices in Alabama to the soaring prices in NYC was a huge thing to adjust to for the 6 days we were there. Any meal we bought was above $15, and paying $15 for breakfast, lunch and dinner ended up costing quite a lot over the span of the whole week. The trip itself was above $1,000 already, being quite costly. But, all in all, it was worth the money, because who doesn’t want to visit New York City!
The environment we encountered every time we went out onto the busy streets of New York was a very different environment from the boring and slow Alabama life that we see on the daily. Everyone is rushing to get somewhere and no one ever slows down for anyone-- except the traffic, of course. Yes, the traffic really is as bad as people say it is. If you’ve ever visited New York, you know that traveling on foot is the best option.
At the end of the day, we had a fantastic time at EMPIRE New York and we can’t wait to go again next year. Since I am a senior, I won’t be able to go next year, but I wish all the law students luck if they choose to go next year! I definitely recommend law students to take this opportunity next year because it is a learning experience for everybody.
