Mississippi College School of Law Concludes Successful Moot Court Competition Season
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
The Mississippi College School of Law (MCSOL) Moot Court Board recently concluded its 2007-2008 moot court competition season. Continuing the success it has enjoyed during past competition seasons, the MCSOL Moot Court Board competed in thirteen (13) appellate advocacy, alternative dispute resolution and trial advocacy competitions during the 2007-2008 Academic Year, both at the national and state levels.
Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush Moot Court Competition
Hosted annually during the Fall Semester by the MCSOL Moot Court Board (Board), the Board selects its membership from an intraschool moot court competition sponsored by Copeland, Cook, Taylor, & Bush (CCTB). 97 second-year students participated in the Fall 2007 CCTB Competition, which featured three (3) Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth (5th) Circuit: The Honorable Edith Jones, the Honorable E. Grady Jolly and the Honorable Leslie Southwick. Two (2) attorneys from CCTB also judged the final argument, firm founding member Glenn Taylor and firm member Bill Leech.
MCSOL students Ashley Nader and Shirley Moore met in the CCTB Competition’s Final Argument, with Nader emerging as the competition’s overall winner. Nick Morisani earned the overall Best Brief Award, with Best Petitioner Brief being awarded to Mason Montgomery and Best Respondent Brief being awarded to Denita Smith. Nader also won the CCTB Competition’s overall Best Oralist Award, while Tray Hairston was awarded the Best On-Brief Oralist Award and Lindsey Oswalt was awarded the Best Off-Brief Oralist Award.
Mississippi Trial Championship
Eight (8) MCSOL Moot Court Board members competed in the Second (2nd) Annual Mississippi Trial Championship, a trial competition between the MCSOL and University of Mississippi School of Law Moot Court Boards, last November. Hosted by the Ole’ Miss Moot Court Board, MCSOL third-year students Andrew Speir and Chris Moore, with witnesses third-year student Brandon Dixon and second-year student Adrienne Maloney, were the overall winners of the Fall 2007 Mississippi Trial Championship.
New York City Bar Association National Moot Court Competition
Third-year students Katrina Dannheim and Amos Maley, with the assistance of third-year student and brief-writer Linda Cooper, competed in the New York City Bar Association National Moot Court Competition Regionals at Vanderbilt University School of Law in Nashville, Tennessee, last November. The team advanced to the Regional Competition’s Semifinals and won the Competition’s Overall Best Brief Award.
The team was coached by MCSOL Professor Matthew Steffey.
American Bar Association Arbitration Competition
Third-year students Chelsea Brannon and Andy Clark competed as attorneys and second-year students Ashley Nader and Tray Hairston served as witnesses as MCSOL competed for the first time in the American Bar Association (ABA) Arbitration Competition Regionals last November. Hosted by Cumberland Law School at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, the team advanced to the Regional Competition’s Semifinal Round and ultimately placed Third (3rd) Overall. This strong performance advanced the team to the ABA Arbitration Competition’s National Finals, hosted by Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida, this January.
MCSOL’s Arbitration Competition team was coached by Bill Leech of Copeland, Cook, Taylor and Bush. The team was sponsored by Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada.
Black Law Student Association Frederick Douglass Appellate Advocacy Competition
This January, MCSOL was represented by two (2) teams at the Southern Region Black Law Student Association (SRBLSA) Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition in Columbia, South Carolina. Second-year students Jana Edmonson and Katrell Nash advanced to the Semifinal Arguments and ranked Third (3rd) Overall at the SRBLSA Frederick Douglass Competition, advancing to the National Competition in Detroit, Michigan, this April. Edmonson and Nash ultimately placed Sixth (6th) Overall in the National Black Law Student Association (NBLSA) Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition.
A second MCSOL team of third-year students Denita Smith & Joslyn Anthony also advanced to the Semifinal Arguments and ranked Fourth (4th) Overall at the SRBLSA Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition.
MCSOL’s Frederick Douglass teams were coached by Marlena Pickering of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz and Gale Walker of Wilkes & McHugh. The teams were sponsored by Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada.
Southern Region Black Law Student Association Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition
Third-year students Shundral Hobson, Latasha Vinson, Isaiah Castilla and Damon Stevenson advanced to the Quarterfinals of the January SRBLSA Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition in Columbia, South Carolina. Castilla was also named the SRBLSA Thurgood Marshall Competition’s Best Advocate, and earned a perfect score during one Competition round.
MCSOL’s Thurgood Marshall team was coached by Jamie Travis of Page, Kruger & Holland and John Hall of Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes. MCSOL Professor Patricia Bennett served as the team’s faculty advisor.
Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition Regionals
Third-year students Chelsea Brannon and Eric Brown and Amy Strickland and Damon Stevenson represented MCSOL at the Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition Regionals at Florida A & M University College of Law in Orlando, Florida, this February. Strickland and Stevenson advanced to the Competition’s Quarterfinal Round and finished Seventh (7th) Overall.
The teams were coached by Harold Pizzetta, Chief of the Civil Litigation Division of the Mississippi Attorney General’s office and Jody Owens of Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada; with assistance from Glenn Swartzfager of the Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel; E. Carlos Tanner, III, law clerk to the Honorable Judge Henry T. Wingate of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi; and Micah Dutro of Dobbs & Dutro.
Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
Third-year students Alissa Armstrong and Katie Bradshaw, along with second-year student Jeremy Clay, competed in the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace University Law School in White Plains, New York, this January. Clay won two (2) Best Oralist Awards during the Competition’s Preliminary Arguments.
The team was coached by Michael Bentley, law clerk to the Honorable Judge Leslie Southwick of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; with assistance from Kelly Riley Blackwood and James Craig of Phelps Dunbar; Frank Hadden of the Mississippi Supreme Court Clerk’s Office; and Keith Turner of Watkins, Ludlam, Winter & Stennis.
Elliott Cup Regional Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition
Second-year students Ashley Nader and Tray Hairston and third-year student Amy Strickland and second-year student Kelly Hollingsworth represented MCSOL at the Elliott Cup Regional Bankruptcy Competition in Dallas, Texas, this February. Strickland and Hollingsworth placed Fifth (5th) Overall at the Elliott Cup, while Nader and Hairston placed Eighth (8th) Overall.
The teams were coached by Bill Leech and Danny Ruhl of Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush and Carolyn Curry Satcher of Daniel, Coker, Horton & Bell. MCSOL Professor Gordon Christy also served as the teams’ faculty advisor. The teams were sponsored by the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference.
American Bar Association Mediation Competition Regionals
Second-year students Jessica Pitts and Jesse Granneman and third-year student Paytreen Davidson and second-year student Jo Claire Yeter competed in the ABA Mediation Competition Regionals at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana, this February. Pitts and Granneman placed Sixth (6th) Overall and Davidson and Yeter placed Eighth (8th) Overall.
The teams were coached by Hal Miller of Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada and Sid Davis, a Collaborative Lawyer, Mediator and Arbitrator from Mendenhall, Mississippi. Mr. Davis also helped sponsor the teams.
Wagner National Labor & Employment Law Moot Court Competition
Third-year students Sara “Katie” Lawrence and Elizabeth Duerr and second-year student Preston Goff represented MCSOL at the Wagner National Labor & Employment Law Moot Court Competition at New York University Law School in New York, New York, this April.
The team was coached by Timothy Lindsay of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, and Stewart and MCSOL Professor Christopher Lund. MCSOL Professor Judy Johnson also served as the team’s faculty advisor.
American Association of Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition Regionals
Third-year students Eric Brown and Drew Emerson competed as attorneys, and third-year student Isaiah Castilla and second-year student Lauren Cliatt served as witnesses, at the American Association of Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition Regionals in Dallas, Texas, this March. The team advanced to the Competition’s Semifinal Round and ultimately placed Third (3rd) Overall.
The team was coached by Rogen Chhabra of Tabor, Chhabra & Gibbs, Gerald Joseph Diaz, Jr. of the Diaz Law Firm, and E. Carlos Tanner, III, law clerk to the Honorable Judge Henry T. Wingate of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi; with assistance from Paul Blake, law clerk to the Honorable Justice Jess Dickinson of the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Memorial Moot Court Competition
Second-year students Ashley Nader and Tray Hairston, with brief-writer and second-year student Jonathon Bissette, and third-year student Amy Strickland and second-year student Kelly Hollingsworth, with brief-writer and third-year student Clifford Ammons, represented MCSOL at the Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Memorial Moot Court Competition this March. Hosted by St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, New York, and the American Bankruptcy Conference, Nader, Hairston and Bissette ultimately won the prestigious Duberstein Competition. Strickland, Hollingsworth and Ammons advanced to the Competition’s Semifinal Arguments, giving MCSOL two (2) of the Duberstein Competition’s final four (4) teams. Strickland, Hollingsworth and Ammons also won a Best Brief Award at the Duberstein Competition, while Nader and Hollingsworth won Best Oralist Awards.
The Duberstein Competition teams were coached by Bill Leech and Danny Ruhl of Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush and Carolyn Curry Satcher of Daniel, Coker, Horton & Bell. MCSOL Professor Gordon Christy also served as the teams’ faculty advisor. The teams were sponsored by the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference.
American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition Regionals
Second-year students Nick Morisani and Lindsey Oswalt, with the assistance of brief-writer and third-year student Todd Butler, and second-year students Matt McDade and Kaytie Pickett, with the assistance of second-year student and brief-writer Matt Biggers, represented MCSOL at the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition Regionals in Boston, Massachusetts, this March. Both teams advanced to the Regional Competition’s Octofinal Arguments, and McDade, Pickett and Biggers won the Competition’s overall Best Brief Award. Morisani, Oswalt and Butler won the Regional Competition’s Fifth (5th) Best Brief Award, and Oswalt also won a Best Oralist Award.
The teams were coached by Lisa Reppeto of Watkins, Ludlam, Winter & Stennis, with assistance from Anita Modak-Truran of Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada and MCSOL Director of Professional Development Meta Copeland. The teams were sponsored by Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush.
Vale Interschool Corporate Moot Court Competition
Third-year student Jared Carrubba and second-year student Mason Montgomery competed in the Vale Interschool Corporate Moot Court Competition in Wilmington, Delaware, this March. Carrubba and Montgomery ultimately advanced to the Competition’s Quarterfinals.
The team was coached by MCSOL Professor Celie Edwards, with assistance from MCSOL Professor Debbie Challener and Aileen McNeill of Watkins, Ludlam, Winter & Stennis.
Mississippi Moot Court Championship
MCSOL’s 2007-2008 moot court competition season concluded with the Moot Court Board’s hosting of the Fifth Annual Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart Mississippi Moot Court Championship (Ogletree Deakins MMCC) in Jackson, Mississippi, April 3rd and 4th. The Ogletree Deakins MMCC’s Semifinal and Final Arguments were the first to be heard in the new Mississippi Supreme Court’s courtrooms at the new Carroll Gartin Justice Building in downtown Jackson.
Twenty (20) MCSOL Moot Court Board members participated in the Ogletree Deakins MMCC, with second-year students Jessica Pitts and Jesse Granneman representing MSCOL in the Final Argument. Second-year student Jeff Lee also won the Ogletree Deakins MMCC’s Best Oralist Award.
The final argument was judged by the Honorable Judge Duane Benton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth (8th) Circuit, presiding; the Honorable Judge E. Grady Jolly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth (5th) Circuit; the Honorable Judge David Bramlette of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi; and Vangela Wade and Bethany Johnson of the Ogletree Deakins MMCC’s sponsorship law firm, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart.
MCSOL Director of Advocacy and Moot Court Board Advisor Victoria Lowery extended her utmost gratitude to the competition team coaches, advisors and sponsors who donated countless hours of time and effort to preparing MCSOL’s competition teams for the unprecedented success they enjoyed during the 2007-2008 Academic Year.
“Our success would not have been possible without the time and assistance of these fine individuals, and we are grateful for their support,” Lowery said. “Going forward, the MCSOL Moot Court Board plans to continue its competition success, and seeks to surpass that success as well. I am confident that, with the continued support of our moot court competition teams’ coaches and advisors, along with the financial assistance of their sponsors, we will only better our competition success in future years.”
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