Mock Trial Introduces Students to Real-Life Legal Situations
Published: July 03, 2026
Author: Dave Bell
The witness squirmed as he faced a barrage of questions from the prosecuting attorney. He deflected probing questions and steadfastly denied allegations that he, the board chairman of a Delaware corporation called TransUnion, had failed to adequately review a proposal to sell the company that would enrich its retiring CEO but harm shareholders.
The aggressive examination – and cross-examination – continued for several minutes. Slowly, cracks in the chairman’s story began to emerge. It became clear that he and the board had not adequately reviewed the CEO’s proposal to sell the company at a discount.
The courtroom drama was interrupted by Greenville University professor Lisa Moon, who stepped in and called a halt to the proceedings. The prosecutors reverted to their true identities as students in a business law class, and the pummeled board chair regained his identity as GU history professor Kollin Fields.
They had been participants in a re-enactment of a real court case, Smith v. Van Gorkom, which was tried more than 40 years ago before the Supreme Court of Delaware.
“The goal of this mock trial is to help students learn about the basic elements of a court case,” Moon said of the capstone exercise of Business 222. “It’s the culmination of all we have covered in the class. By experiencing the courtroom setting firsthand, students can apply what they’ve learned about legal research, opening and closing arguments, presenting evidence, examining witnesses, and making objections.
“In this exercise, we re-tried the first case in U.S. history in which the shareholders of a corporation successfully brought a derivative lawsuit against the corporation and its board of directors,” she added. “Those board members violated their duty of care to the shareholders by agreeing with the CEO to sell the company for less than its actual value. Eventually, the board members had to repay the corporation out of their personal financial resources for the losses suffered by the shareholders.”
Later in the day, another team of students grilled the company’s chief financial officer (played by Bre Burkle, GU director of student development) and its would-be purchaser (played by Shawn Foles, professor of criminal justice).
In both scenarios, the impact on the participating students was significant. They learned legal terms and procedures, they experienced the preparations necessary to try a case, and they felt the tension as they matched wits with other would-be attorneys in the makeshift courtroom in Dietzman Hall.
Moon said that the class teaches students how to read and write legal documents and then reason through them in a trial setting.
“We begin with contracts,” Moon said. “We want students to understand the different types of contracts and the court remedies for breach of contract. Then we study business and corporate law, including the stock market, how corporations are formed, and the principles of limited liability. This knowledge is immediately applied by studying a case that illustrates the principles we’ve just covered.”
But the true experiential learning occurs at the end of the semester when the class reenacts an actual trial, which this semester was the Smith v. Van Gorkum case.
“We read the case line by line together, noting how the attorneys presented the law and the facts,” Moon said. “The class was then divided into two parts – the prosecution and the defense. Most of the class served as the legal research and writing team for their side. Only a few were assigned to the trial team, where they demonstrated courtroom fundamentals – opening statements and closing arguments, presenting evidence, and questioning and cross-examining witnesses.”
“This exercise forces them to reason like a lawyer and follow the procedures used in an actual trial,” Moon added. “It’s experiential learning at its best.”
