Now that the Queen’s Law team has returned from Vienna, where they advanced to the elimination rounds after beating 235 teams from around the world in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Queen’s 2014-15 moot season has officially come to a close.

In 17 moots this year, a total of 75 students developed valuable professional skills: 57 as oralists and another 18 as researchers and/or coaches.

Following a $100,000 gift by Lenczner Slaght Royce Griffin LLP to the Moot Court Program, the season kicked off with the third annual Moot Camp, a day of panel discussions and activities with judges and lawyers to help students develop strategies and present arguments. Participating in the event were some members of the recently established Moot Advisory Council, an alumni board that reinforces the school’s strong foundation in mooting.

“There really is a tremendous amount of interest in mooting at Queen’s Law,” says Professor Christopher Essert, chair of the Moot Court Committee. “Many of our students find it to be the most rewarding experience of their time at law school. This year, once again, we had a great set of results, our students performed at a very high level and we are extremely proud of them and their successes.”

Those successes include the following:

Two international law teams came home with five awards each. Queen’s won First Place Team Memorials in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot. Team members Stephanie Hodge, Law’15, and Anneke Bruinsma-Findlay, Law’16, received the Second Best Applicant Memorial award, while Kaitlin Shung and Rachel Pilc, both Law’15, picked up the Fourth Best Respondent Memorial award. Placing in the Top 10 Best Oralists were Shung (second) and Hodge (eighth). In the Niagara Moot that finished third overall, Elizabeth Teed and Levi Vandersteen, both Law’16, won awards for Best Team Argument (Applicant) and Runner-up Applicant Memorial. Teed was also named Best Advocate, while Vandersteen took the third place honour. Teammates Brittany Smith and Meagan Berlin, both Law’16, had the Best Respondent Memorial.

Mooters from two teams won awards for Best Appellant Factum: Amanda Rozario, Law’15, and Kegan Chang, Law’16, in the Walsh Family Law Moot; and Andrew Cottreau, Robyn Laing and Jess Spindler, all Law’16, in the Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot that placed third overall. Laing was also named Distinguished Oralist.

Oralists from two other teams received individual honours as well. Out of 2,000 mooters competing in the world-wide Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Jonathan Nehmetallah, Law’16, placed in the top 100. Jordan Moss, Law’15, was a top 10 mooter in the national Wilson Moot dealing with Charter issues.

Lenczner Slaght/CBA Gale Cup Moot team members Kelly Hayden, Avril Ford Aubry and Elizabeth Moore of Law’15, and Jeremy Butt, Law’16, won a Best English-Speaking Law School prize for the criminal law competition.

At the year-end moot celebration held in Macdonald Hall in March, Queen’s Law award winners were announced. Emily Evangelista, Law’16, and Angela Wiggins, Law’15, shared this year’s Fasken Martineau DuMoulin Mooting Award for outstanding contributions to the moot program. The new Lenczner Slaght Awards for excellence in oral advocacy were presented to Jessup Moot honorees Kaitlin Shung and Stephanie Hodge.

As one season ends, another begins. Professor Essert and the Moot Advisory Council are already developing plans to make 2015-16 an even more eventful year for mooting at Queen’s Law.