Hiya!
I usually run games with a Tribunal being the final set piece, and usually use a quick recap of Tribunal in the first session of the next campaign.
I used to use Tribunal as a rather boring legal thing but nowadays I skip over that for the most part, unless the PC's are particularly involved or I want the players to see something legal.
Nowadays I do a bunch of different things - Tribunal itself takes place after the Tourney and Fair usually.
I always have my players take the roles of combatants or NPC's dealing with the players as opposed to doing it all myself. We usually use it as a fairly diceless roleplaying thing.
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Fair. Hermetic books, magical item contracts, some magical items on sale. Vis brokered, loaned and so on. We have a Verditius in the group and he enjoys discussing magic items he can make for people.
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Academic demonstrations: I let people make skill checks to run little 'training' sessions, which allows them to gain reputation points. If people have Hermetic rivals they may heckle, making an opposed skill check.
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My setting is based in the Provencal tribunal, so I have a House Flambeau tourney every Tribunal. (Canon it takes place more often, but I only use it this often.) This involves Certamen and Dimicatio, as well as melees and the like. I usually have magical items or books as prizes.
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House Flambeau have their Make the Biggest Fire competition where every mage worth his ignem score gives it a go (Again with reputation points.)
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House Flambeau only have their tell the most outrageous but vaguely true adventure stories competition (House rep)
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Covenant alliances and deals are always negotiated at Tribunal.
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There is a welcoming of new gauntleted magi into the order always held at Tribunal.
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Hermetic games. Basically getting some opposed Concentration (Try to hold a feather on your nose with magic with a weasel in your pants), Finesse (Horseshoe thowing) and the like. Chess or checkers games, all of that stuff. Usually there's a vis cost to play and a vis prize, usually pretty low amounts.
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Not always, but there's often a plot happening between various wizards. My campaign has two covenants who have been at war with each other since their founding (Unrelated to PC covenant). They often try to involve the PC wizards in their games.