On May 19, 2026, Armada Law attorney Anslee Woznick spent the morning doing something a little different from her usual day. She stepped into a 7th-grade classroom at GREEN Charter School in Simpsonville to serve as the guest judge for a student mock trial. The real stars of the day were the students, a room full of young people who showed up ready to argue, object, and think on their feet.
A Courtroom Built Inside a 7th Grade Classroom
The mock trial took place in Ms. Wood’s 7th grade English Language Arts class, where students built a courtroom drama around “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the short story they had been studying. Students took on every role you would find in a real proceeding, from the attorneys handling direct and cross-examination to the witnesses taking the stand.
What stood out most was how seriously the students took it. Many of them dressed the part, borrowing suits and blazers from their parents to look like the attorneys they were portraying. The witnesses dressed up too, several of them rotating costumes as they switched between multiple characters. The result was a classroom that felt less like a school assignment and more like the real thing.
How Anslee Showed Up for a Future Generation of SC Lawyers
As a guest judge, Anslee did far more than keep score. She presided over the proceedings, offered feedback to the students, and answered their questions about what life as a personal injury attorney in South Carolina actually looks like. She also gave a short talk about the legal profession and why it might be a path worth pursuing.
Her goal was simple: to help these students picture themselves in the legal profession one day. By the end of the morning, that goal was met and then some. Several students could not stop talking with her about it, and according to their teacher, a number of them left inspired to join the school’s formal mock trial team next year.
A Moment Worth Remembering
Every mock trial has a moment that brings the lessons home. During one cross-examination, the student playing defense counsel jumped up and called out “Objection!” then realized in the same breath that they had forgotten what they were objecting to. Not a single student broke character. Anslee overruled the objection and took a moment to explain that you cannot object simply because you do not like the answer a witness is about to give. A couple of minutes later, the same student got it exactly right.
It was a small moment, but it captured the whole point of a mock trial: learning by doing, mistakes and all.
In Anslee’s Words
“I set out to inspire these students to see themselves in the legal profession, and watching them stay in character, think on their feet, and get genuinely excited about the law told me we did exactly what we came to do.”
She also wanted to pass along a shoutout: “Thank you to my mom, Ms. Wood, for always inspiring the next generation.”
About South Carolina’s Middle School Mock Trial Program
Classroom simulations like this one share their roots with the South Carolina Bar’s Middle School Mock Trial Program, part of the Bar’s Law-Related Education effort to bring the legal process to life for students across the state.
In a typical program, students receive an official case packet that includes the facts of a fictional case, witness statements, exhibits, and the rules they will argue under. Teams then take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses and present their case in a simulated courtroom, often before volunteer attorneys and a presiding judge who score the performance and offer feedback. The program is built to strengthen public speaking, critical thinking, and an understanding of how the justice system works.
For students and families who want to learn more, the South Carolina Bar shares full details on its website.
mock trial (noun): a simulated court proceeding in which students take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses to learn, firsthand, how the legal process works.
At Armada Law, showing up for our neighbors is part of who we are. Spending a morning with the next generation of South Carolina’s attorneys is exactly the kind of community moment we are proud to be part of.
