Suit up, law enthusiasts, and dive into the newly-established Legal Eagles! Legal Eagles is a debate and mock trial club that aims to build students’ argumentative abilities by focusing on using proper reasoning and persuasion techniques. The club meets once a month and members can expect to participate in activities that strengthen their debate skills, like using evidence effectively to defend their standpoint and delivering rebuttals of their clubmates’ arguments.
Legal Eagles was established with the intention of bringing a fresh new extracurricular to Edison High’s already vast selection of clubs. The club was founded by Maha Khan ‘24 and Varnika sai Sirigineedi ‘25, both of whom are interested in law themselves and wanted to connect with other students who felt similarly.
“We noticed that there wasn’t a platform for people interested in law at Edison High,” said Co-President Khan. “Edison High specifically has been more focused on supporting science and engineering, but there are no history or legal-related clubs.”
“We started the club because we didn’t feel like there was any representation for students who plan to pursue a career in government,” said Co-President Sirigineedi.
Starting a new club came with its own set of challenges. While there have been previous attempts at creating a mock trial club at Edison High, none have successfully taken off. As a pilot club, Legal Eagles initially lacked approval, and much planning had to be done before it could become an official extracurricular. Khan and Sirigineedi worked alongside principal Mr. Charles Ross and vice-principal Ms. Nicole Himmelstein to book a room for club meetings and recruit Ms. Jaslin Kaur as the club’s advisor. Their efforts have paid off, as the first two meetings have drawn a large group of interested students.
“I feel like Legal Eagles is the perfect club for people to explore their interests and to learn more about law. It is easily accessible, and I feel like the founders do a great job making it a place for everyone rather than those that are just interested in pursuing a law career,” said Tamseel Momin ‘26, a member of the club.
As the school year progresses, Legal Eagles plans to have much in store for its members.
“We want to go to a mock trial competition, as there’s never been a competitive mock trial or debate team at Edison High,” said Khan.
In the spring, the club presidents hope to compete in the New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s Mock Trial Competition. In upcoming meetings, Legal Eagles will begin building a team and hosting practice trials to prepare.
Even those who don’t plan on participating in competitive events can still enjoy themselves in Legal Eagles.
“Many of our club members aren’t even sure they want to be lawyers in the future,” said Sirigineedi. “They’re here because they’re passionate about something and want to speak about it.”
With the rest of the year ahead of them, the Legal Eagles hope to expand upon their numbers and continue to provide a place for students to find their voice and speak up.