Victorious Moot Season for Queen's Law

Click Photo (large) Photo by: Carol Johnson

Members of the 2007 Queen's Law competitive moot teams in the Macdonald Hall atrium on March 27th.

The 2007 moot season has come to a close and the members of the 13 Queen's Law Competitive Moot teams have returned triumphant to Macdonald Hall. Each team, and every competitor, distinguished themselves in front of judges and colleagues in their respective competitions. Queen's Law teams placed in the top three in five moots: first overall in the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) Moot; first in the ABA Client Counselling Regional Competition; second overall in the Gale Cup; and third overall in both the Canadian Corporate and Securities Law Moot and the Niagara Moot. As well, five Queen's Law mooters Eleonore Morris, Law ‘08, Sean Warshawski, Law ‘08, Chris Slade, Law ‘08, Bradley Chaplick, Law ‘08, and Mike Sestito, Law ‘09, received official recognition for their performances in front of the court.

Queen's Law hosted, on March 3rd, the 2007 OTLA Cup, a civil trial advocacy moot. The team members, Eleonore Morris and Sean Warshawski, alongside faculty coach Professor Erik Knutsen, were determined to keep the cup at Queen's, and succeeded. Eleonore won the awards for Best Overall Advocate and Best Cross Examination, and Sean won the award for Best Closing Argument. "Not knowing how the witness would react on cross-examination, and struggling to get admissions out made the moot incredibly exciting," said Sean. "To actually step up and advocate for our clients has been one of the most thrilling and rewarding experiences I've had in law school so far."

Queen's Law's 2007 ABA Client Counselling Team placed first in the Regional Competition held in Lansing, Michigan on February 7th, advancing them to the finals held in Dallas, Texas on March 21st. The team, Lisa Bombardieri, Law ‘08, Christina Stewart, Law ‘08, and faculty coach Susan Miklas, narrowly missed a spot for the international round. "It can be challenging," said Lisa, "To keep your emotions and opinions to yourself when you are dealing with really tough issues... You are required to consider your obligations as a lawyer... It is definitely a valuable experience and the skills we learned will make us better lawyers."

The Gale Cup, a criminal trial advocacy moot, saw the Queen's Law team take the second place position at the competition on February 23rd. The team members, Dihim Emami, Law ‘08, Pras Kayilasanathan, Law ‘08, Ken Lockhart, Law ‘08, David Parke, Law ‘08, and faculty coach Professor Lisa Dufraimont, were thrilled with the outcome of the trial and the opportunities that the moot provided them. "The Gale Cup has been my best experience in law school," said Ken. "Getting to know my teammates, arguing at the actual Court of Appeal, and meeting all sorts of [practicing] lawyers, I couldn't have asked for more out of a mooting experience."

The Canadian Corporate and Securities Law Moot, held on March 2nd and 3rd, dealt with new and controversial issues in business and securities law. The team, Mike Blinick, Law ‘08, Jeff Love, Law ‘07, Chris Slade, Law ‘08, and Ora Wexler, Law ‘07, working alongside researcher and primary factum writer, Jenn Stewart, Law ‘08, and faculty coach Professor Justin Connidis, placed third overall in competition, in addition to winning, for the second year in a row, the prize for Best Factum. Although the judges of the competition openly recognized the achievements of all oralists, Chris was singled out for his oral advocacy skills, taking home the award for Second Place Oralist. "It was an exhilarating experience to be questioned by the judges," said Chris, "As despite hours of practice aimed at anticipating and preparing for questions, it was inevitable that we'd be forced to think on our feet. Participating in the moot has been a learning experience like none other for me so far in law school."

The Niagara Moot competition was held from March 22nd to 24th in Cleveland, Ohio. The team, Garth Dingwall, Law ‘08, Justin Guile, Law ‘08, Jennifer Graham, Law ‘08, Kim Newton, Law ‘08, alongside researcher, Kathryn Aubrey-Horvath, Law ‘08, and faculty coach Professor George Alexandrowicz, met fierce competition in the preliminary rounds, and entered the semi-finals ranked third out of eighteen teams, and first among the Canadian teams. The Queen's Law team was narrowly beaten in the semi-final round but was recognized later in the awards ceremony as the Third Place Team and won the Best Respondent's Memorial. Jennifer was furthered honoured as the Third Overall Best Oralist. "Participating in the Niagara Moot Court Competition was an incredible experience," said Jennifer. "Not only did we learn how to effectively craft and advocate a legal argument, but we also had a great time learning from one another and the other competitors - both north and south of the border."

The two final oralists to be recognized were Mike Sestito, Law ‘09, at the Fasken Martineau First Year International Law Moot, held on March 23rd, and Bradley Chaplick, Law ‘08, at the Wilson Moot, held on March 2nd and 3rd. "I felt surprisingly comfortable speaking in front of the judges," said Mike, "And I owe that comfort to the outstanding support of both the student and faculty judges that helped our team practice. They prepared us for absolutely anything and everything." Cheered on by their teammates, Mike was presented the award for Second Place Oralist, and Bradley was awarded the prize for Third Place Oralist. "I had a fantastic experience participating in the Wilson Moot Competition," said Bradley. "The level of advocacy from all of the schools was outstanding and I was extremely proud of our team's efforts and ultimately of our final product."

The Moot Court Committee, made up of Dr. Rosemary King, Faculty Chair, Carol Johnson, staff administrator, Theresa Buchanan, Law ‘07, and Jon Fuller, Law ‘07, were overwhelmed with the success of the 2007 season. "Queen's Faculty of Law has had another exciting year competing at several prestigious national and international competitive moots," said Dr. King. "A dazzling array of talented students and faculty coaches showcased our abilities very effectively this academic year and are all to be commended. Space does not permit mention of all our accomplishments... All our mooters are to be commended for their team spirit, dedication, discipline, and excellence of execution. You make us proud!"

Each moot differs in its context, but all moots better prepare today's law students for life as a practicing lawyer. All mooters leave with a better understanding of what it means to be a good advocate. They learn the skills it takes to work on a problem as a team, and experience the challenge of thinking outside of the norm in a legal field. Lindsey Love-Forester, Law ‘08, was a member of the Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot team, a unique and challenging competition of 178 law schools from around the world held in Vienna from March 30th to April 5th. "My mooting experience has not only developed and honed my advocacy and legal writing skills, it has also challenged me to think creatively about the law," said Lindsey. "Generally, mooters are required to answer a problem in an area of law that they know very little about. But by the end you're a near expert in the area. The end product is such an exhilarating and satisfying experience."

To participate in a moot is indeed a unique experience, and offers students opportunities that extend beyond practical skills. "I was able to explore an area of law which I had a greater interest in," said Ora, of the Canadian Corporate and Securities Law Moot Team, "And I got to argue my case in front of prominent securities lawyers. I got to spend three months with a great group of people, and I wouldn't have traded this experience in for anything."

All members of the Queen's Law moot teams share the same sense of pride at the close of every moot season, but because of the particularly high level of team and individual achievements this year, this pride has spread throughout the Queen's Law community. "Acting as student member to the Moot Court Committee," said Teresa, "I had high hopes for all Queen's Law mooters this season. And I was not disappointed. This year saw teams formed with people who had perhaps never worked together before. And yet, each team came together, defined their own style and represented Queen's Law in a most dignified way. The dedication to excellence and sense of community spirit is what always sets Queen's mooters above their competition."

To read about achievements of all Queen's Law moot teams in the 2007 competitions, please see http://law.queensu.ca/students/llbProgram/mootCourt/2007MootExperiences.html