Temple Law School sent teams to the final round in two divisions of the 2025 Online National Trial Competition, emerging with a divisional championship and a second-place finish. In addition to team honors, student-advocate Miron Sergeev was awarded Best Advocate.
With nearly 70 teams from across the country, competitors were assigned to one of four divisions, each with its own finals. Temple Law had teams in two divisions. Each student competitor was responsible for one side of the criminal case, conducting the opening, direct and cross examination, and closing argument for their side. After six preliminary rounds, both Temple teams advanced to the semi-finals and to the final round of their respective divisions. The team of Miron Sergeev, 2L, and Elizabeth Beck, 2L, secured second place, while the team consisting of Amir Borghaei, 2L, and Patricia Paulino, 3L, emerged victorious, winning the championship title in their division. Their coaches were adjunct professor Zoe Green Appler and Trial Team alum Chris Moore ’23.
“I am happy to win the Best Advocate award and place as a finalist in the 2025 Online National Championship! I am especially grateful for the tremendous support of our coaches, who hardened our team into relentless advocates through rigorous practice,” said Miron Sergeev. “Professors Jules Epstein and Elizabeth Lippy were also invaluable in shaping up our case theory and developing a compelling story—they refined our knowledge of evidence law and prepared us to represent the toughest causes in court.”
Division champion Amir Borghaei noted that the competition’s structure required advocates to think on their feet. “This competition was a really great experience overall,” Borghaei said. “I learned a lot and having to run three trials a day during the preliminary rounds was an interesting challenge that allowed us to learn and adjust in real time. The judges and other competitors were fair and honest and the final round especially was very competitive.”
Elizabeth Beck agreed. “Having the opportunity to compete alongside my teammates Miron, Patricia, and Amir has been an incredible experience I will never forget. We all put everything we could into our work and material for this competition and it paid off in the end!” she said.
“Being a part of this journey was a humbling experience,” said coach Chris Moore. “Going from competing to coaching made it just as much of a learning experience for me as it was for the students. The most rewarding part of this experience was the growth I was able to see in each student over such a short period of time. I am extremely grateful that I was able to play a small part in this team and this program’s success.”
Coach Zoe Green Appler praised the competitors for their grit and teamwork and cited the support of Temple’s trial advocacy community as well. “I have never seen a group work together to grind through this difficult preparation process the way these four have,” Appler said. “A special thanks to all my fellow trial advocacy coaches and professors who helped judge our scrimmages, give our students counsel and provide a safe space for these advocates to grow. This win is not just a win for our team, but for the Temple Law community as a whole. These students reminded the trial advocacy world why Temple is ranked #1!”