Judge & Juror Registration

Empire Chicago 2026 - November 14-16

Welcome

Empire Chicago is scheduled for November 14-16. You can volunteer for one trial or several—it is entirely up to you! Please carefully review the below message prior to registering.


Your Role

We are looking for volunteers to serve as either presiding judges or scoring jurors:

  • A juror carefully listens to the presentations, scores the trial, and provides written and verbal feedback for the students.
  • A presiding judge sits on the bench, conducts the proceedings, likely scores the trial (but may not), and provides students with written and verbal feedback. Serving as a presiding judge requires more preparation time than a juror, as there are additional materials to review.

If you'd like to preside, we will try our best to honor your preference. However, we typically receive more requests to preside than available spots. When you register, you will be able to indicate your role preference.


MCLE Credit

Attorneys can earn professional responsibility MCLE credits by attending an ethics workshop on the day of their mock trial round, subject to the following conditions:

  • To receive the credits, a volunteer must be physically present for the entirety of the MCLE presentation and volunteer for at least one mock trial round at Empire Chicago.
  • You may attend two (2) CLE sessions on the same day, even if you are volunteering for only one trial.
  • Each workshop is worth one (1) credit hour. This means that if you volunteer for one trial and attend MCLE workshops both before and after that trial, you can earn two (2) ethics credits.
  • Workshops are held before judge orientation, so attending a session will require you to spend additional time with us.

Descriptions of the MCLE programs will be posted when available. All MCLE certificates are issued by Eagle Cove Bar Services, Empire’s CLE partner.