Posted by Post authored by Jennifer Byrne
The YLS hosted another successful Moot Court Competition for the 36th annual year! 31 teams from law schools around the country competed in the tournament this year, and always, this year’s competitors were top notch.
Student teams were presented with a fact pattern involving a former medical professor at a public university who claimed to have been fired in retaliation for a blog entry that he posted on a non-university website in violation of his free speech rights under the First Amendment. He also asserted that, by releasing an uncomplimentary press release about the firing, the university infringed his liberty interests in his reputation under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Teams drafted briefs on behalf of either the professor or the university, and rotated arguing on behalf of both sides throughout 7 rounds of the Competition, which took place on November 15, 16 and 17 at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Attorney volunteers from the CBA graded the student’s briefs and judged the oral argument rounds over the course of the 3-day Competition.
After several rounds of cuts, the Competition was narrowed to Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s Team Q, featuring competitors Amanda Bulot and Kenny Hebeisen, and UC Hastings College of Law’s Team Y, featuring competitors Mikayla O’Neal and Breana Burgos, who went head-to-head in the final round. The final round was judged by panel of special guests, which included: U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin, CBA President Steven Elrod and Nina Fain of the CBA’s Board of Managers. The panel kept the competitors on their toes with a series of challenging questions.
Both teams rose to the challenge and performed superbly under pressure. However, Team Q from Loyola University Chicago School of Law ultimately prevailed, walking away with the award for 1st place team overall in the Competition. We congratulate Amanda Bulot and Kenny Hebeisen for their exemplary performance and this well-deserved recognition.
Additionally, we extend congratulations to the following students who were acknowledged for their exemplary drafting sand oral argument skills in the Competition:
Mikayla O’Neal and Breana Burgos of UC Hastings College of Law for coming in 2nd place overall in the Competition.
University of Southern California Gould School of Law’s Taryn McPherson and Corey Randenberg for filing the best brief.
UC Hastings’ Mikayla O’Neal and Breana Burgos for filing the second best brief.
Matthew Mahoney of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law for winning best oralist.
Amanda Bulot of Loyola University Chicago School of Law for winning second best oralist.
Finally, we thank the following schools for participating in this year’s Competition. Kudos on all of your hard work and we hope to see you next year!
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
DePaul University College of Law
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Marquette University Law School
Michigan State University College of Law
New York Law School
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Pepperdine Univ. School of Law
South Texas College of Law Houston
Southwestern Law School
St. Mary’s University School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas Tech University School of Law
The John Marshall Law School
UC Hastings College of Law
University of Connecticut School of Law
University of Southern California
University of Wisconsin Law School
To learn more about the CBA’s Annual Moot Court Competition, visit the Competition’s home page here or email mootcourt@chicagobar.org.
About the Author:
Jennifer Byrne is the Director of the Young Lawyers Section of The Chicago Bar Association, for which she organizes and coordinates the many events its young lawyers enjoy, including continuing legal education and mentoring programs, social events, the CBA @theBar podcast, blog and more. Prior to Jennifer’s work as a bar association professional, she was a domestic relations attorney in Chicago. Jennifer attended law school at DePaul University College of Law and received a B.A. in both English-Literature and Fine Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University. To learn more about how to get involved in CBA’s Young Lawyers Section, feel free to contact Jennifer at jbyrne@chicagobar.org or 312-554-2031.