About

The Pre-Law and Mock Trial Summer Academy is a one- or two-week residential pre-college program at Rutgers–New Brunswick, open to students completing their sophomore or junior year, ages 16–18 by summer 2026. For 2026, Week I (Civil Case) runs July 12–18 and Week II (Criminal Case) runs July 19–25; students may attend either week independently or both, with Week II building on Week I's fundamentals for returning students through added breakout sessions on advanced courtroom tactics.

Each week centers on a single fictional case (Kipling v. United States) that students work through daily: legal terminology, trial roles, courtroom decorum, and case theory on day one; direct and cross-examination writing and witness technique on day two, alongside a panel of practicing lawyers and a separate panel introducing law school; objection practice and full mock-trial team rehearsal on day three; a field trip (destination not yet finalized as of this entry) on day four; and two full mock trials plus a closing ceremony on the final day. Instruction is led by what the program describes only as "a distinguished member of the legal field" — no instructor is named on the primary source. Students live in an on-campus residential dorm for the week, with structured evening activities (movie nights at Rutgers Cinema, sports, arts and crafts) supervised by residential and program assistants. All participants earn a Rutgers Pre-College Digital Badge credential on completion.

Registration for this academy has typically closed well ahead of the summer start date given strong demand — a student interested in a specific year should plan to apply early rather than wait for the season to begin.

This suits a student who wants a genuine trial-advocacy trial run — writing and delivering real direct/cross examinations, arguing objections, running an actual mock trial twice in one week — rather than a survey course on legal theory; the two-week Criminal Case track in particular is the more substantive option for a student who already knows mock trial or courtroom advocacy specifically (not just "law" broadly) is the interest.