When sophomore Julia Laughlin found out that schedule conflicts had left her with only two options for an elective, she reluctantly took the business law class.

“Initially, I was pretty frustrated,” said Laughlin. “I had pretty low expectations going in, but I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.”

The business law class, taught by business education teacher Kimberly Karzen, hosted a mock trial where students participated in fictional trials based off past resolved cases. Real Cook County circuit court judges presided over the trials.

“Because of the experience [of the mock trial], I am a lot more interested in law,” said Laughlin. “It showed more of what an actual attorney does and what it feels like to be a lawyer. It’s a lot more than what you see on TV.”

Aaron Taylor, assistant professor of law at Saint Louis University, said he found that first-year student enrollment for law schools has declined more than 30 percent since 2010 and applications have fallen more than 40 percent.

“Law has never been much of a specific focus in high schools,” Taylor said.

He said the reason for this is that the skills needed for law closely follow the skills students are already taught in school, so they are rarely emphasized in the context of law.

Karzen said she hopes future students will participate in the mock trials to learn about law and to experience firsthand the realistic expectations of being a lawyer.

“I hope that students continue to sign up for the course, and we continue to have a second annual, third annual, etcetera and make this a real tradition within the course and within our department,” Karzen said.

Laughlin said she was originally not considering law as a path she would take in college, despite her mother being a lawyer.

“But now, I’m definitely considering it more because [the business law class] really opened my eyes to see what it really means to be a lawyer,” Laughlin said.

Senior Katerina Karfias said she had initially enrolled in the class without planning to pursue a career in law. But after the mock trials, she is considering law because of the experience she gained in the class.

“It was way more fun than I thought it would be,” Karfias said.

According to Karzen, students spent weeks researching their parts and memorizing their prepared speeches in preparation for the trials.

Kay Hanlon, Cook County circuit court judge, said that in the trial she judged, the preparation and the performance of the mock trial was impressive because of the level of professionalism the students portrayed. She hopes to be returning to preside at a mock trial at GBN again next year.

“I encourage anybody who is interested in any areas of the law to reach out to me,” said Hanlon. “If you ever want to come inside a courtroom, that’s the best way to get to know the system. You can walk in anytime to any courtroom.”

Laughlin said she would recommend this class to anyone who is curious about law.

“Even if you’re slightly considering it, it’s a good class because you can see if you love it or if you hate it,” said Laughlin. “If you hate it, that’s good to find out in high school before you go to college.”