It has the edge-of-your-seat intensity of athletics, the analytical strategy of chess and the dramatic flair of a “Glee” production – just without the singing.

And, thanks to the generosity of private donors, High School Mock Trial will continue this year in Maine.

Last year’s mock trial competition involved 340 students on 22 teams across the state, with Hampden defeating Sanford to move on to the nationals and finishing in the top 20.

But the program was in danger after the Maine Bar Association announced it would no longer support it because of the poor economy’s impact on the group’s finances.

A group of teachers, attorneys and parents stepped up to form Friends of Mock Trial and raised the $15,000 needed to run the program this year.

“Families come and watch the drama unfold and their kid is the star. It’s ‘Law & Order’ but it’s the real thing,” said Derry Rundlett, an attorney with Childs, Rundlett, Fifield, Shumway & Altshuler in Portland.

The state competition will get under way next month and run through January.

In mock trial, students assume the roles in a judicial proceeding – attorneys, judges, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants – and take turns delivering both sides of a fictitious case. They are judged by legal scholars like the dean of the University of Maine School of Law and the chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Last year’s case involved an accusation that a student had planted a bomb. Her defense was that she had been framed by her rival.

The competition requires preparation, public speaking and quick, critical thinking as the arguments and objections fly. At the same time, students learn about the judicial process and rules of evidence.

“You sit there and watch these kids, and some of them are very proficient,” Rundlett said.

The activity is a natural for people who enjoy team camaraderie and competition but aren’t inclined to play sports, Rundlett said.

The program started in 1993. Participation ebbs and flows, and often hinges on good advisers.

Scarborough High School had a team for years, but it lapsed when its faculty advisor retired. Now the team is starting up again.

Schools pay $250 to compete, although that falls short of paying for the statewide program.

Funding to keep High School Mock Trial going came from law firms, as well as $4,000 from the family of Corrie Lazar of Seattle, who was an avid participant in mock trial in high school and college. She was killed by a drunken driver in 2009 while working at a summer camp in Maine.

The law firm that represented the family, Gross, Minsky and Mogul, matched the $4,000 donation, Rundlett said.

The competition space and evaluators’ time is donated; the money pays for the crafting of the legal issue that students argue, and for the staff to coordinate the scheduling of teams.

Beyond the enjoyment of the competition, Rundlett said, it’s encouraging to see the future of his profession.

“There are five or six every time who you know are going to be lawyers,” he said. “They do as good a job as some of the lawyers we’ve seen.”

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com