Queen's Law's Moot Season Off to Great Start at Mathews Dinsdale Competition

Queen's Law's 2008 team for Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark Labour Arbitration Moot: faculty coach Professor Kevin Banks, oralists J.B. Peikes, Law '09, and Jonathan Keslassy, Law '09, and researcher Daniel Chodos, Law '08.

The Queen's Law team placed second overall at the 10th annual Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark Labour Arbitration Moot in Toronto, Ontario, on January 27, 2008. Represented by oralists Jonathan Keslassy, Law '09, and J.B. Peikes, Law '09, the Queen's team engaged in a hard-fought final round, before being edged out by Dalhousie University's team.

"Jon and J.B. did such a tremendous job all throughout the competition," said Daniel Chodos, Law '08, who served as researcher for the Queen's team. "Their arguments really brought the facts to life and made all our research worthwhile."

The Mathews Dinsdale moot is a national competition in which students argue on behalf of the parties to a labour dispute in front of a panel of mock arbitrators. The final round was presided over by Elizabeth MacPherson, Chair of the Canadian Industrial Labour Relations Board; Kevin Whitaker, Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board; and eminent arbitrator Innis Christie.

"It was quite the experience making oral submissions in front of some of the top labour practitioners in the country," said J.B. "But after so much preparation and so many run-throughs, we were ready for them."

The team was coached by Professor Kevin Banks, who had only joined the Queen's Law faculty in October 2007. With a broad background in labour law, including public sector and international policy work as well as grievance arbitrations, Banks' expertise proved an invaluable asset for the Mathews Dinsdale finalists.

"We felt so fortunate to be coached by someone as dedicated as Professor Banks," said Jonathan. "Under his direction, the team worked closely and forged a lasting bond."

"The judges were unanimous in commending our mooters for their excellent presentations, and noted that the standard of performance in this year's competition was the highest that they had seen," said Banks.

Each year, aspiring labour lawyers compete in the Mathews Dinsdale moot to gain valuable practical experience. It is so highly regarded within the legal community that it attracts some of the leading labour lawyers and arbitrators to volunteer as panel members and judges.

"The moot experience is unquestionably one of the best things for any law school student to do," said J.B. "The weekend offered an opportunity to network with fellow law students across the country, lawyers, and the most respected arbitrators in the industry," said Jonathan.

The Queen's Law team thanks Professor Emeritus Bernie Adell and local lawyers Carol Mackillop, Law ‘94, Vince Panetta, Law '95, and Colin Youngman, Law '05, for their counsel in acting as arbitrators during the practice rounds.

Queen's participation in the Mathews Dinsdale & Clark Labour Arbitration Moot is supported by a grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario.