Chattanooga team repeats as Mock Trial champs NASHVILLE (March 10, 2003) — Two Chattanooga teams were among the top winners of the Tennessee Bar Association’s State High School Mock Trial Competition this weekend, with first place going to Family Christian Academy, a home school organization. The McCallie School won third place. Chattanooga attorney Jeff Atherton, who practices law with Milligan, Barry, Hensley & Evans, is Family Christian’s coach. It was the second trip to the championship in Nashville for the home school organization — they won the state competition last year, too. They’ll now be on their way to the national championship in New Orleans. They made a similar trip last year when they competed in St. Paul, Minn., and took home Tennessee’s first-ever national mock trial title. The competition was held Friday and Saturday at the Metro Nashville Davidson County Courthouse, with the final match-up presided over by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice Holder. The competition, in its 23rd year, involved more than 200 students and 200 volunteers, mostly lawyers, law students and judges. McCallie’s attorney coach is John Harrison, who practices law with Baker, Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell. Bob Oliver is the teacher sponsor. The award for Best Witness went to Tyler Randolph of Family Christian Academy. Best Advocate was won by Ankita Baxi of Germantown’s Houston High School. Second place went to Houston, and fourth place was won by one of the two teams fielded by Nashville’s Harpeth Hall. Nineteen teams from across the state competed. To reach the state competition, teams had to win their district competitions by playing the roles of attorneys and witnesses in a case concocted by the TBA Young Lawyers Division. This year the case involved a drive-by-shooting murder of a high school student. Stan Graham, an attorney with Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis, was chair of this year's YLD Mock Trail Committee.