As first-year law students prepare to head into Holderness Moot Court tryouts later this month, 2Ls and 3Ls at UNC School of Law showed off their practical skills and training in various moot court competitions.
Client Counseling Competition
Elaine Hillgrove 2L and Natalia Zbonack 2L won first place in the American Bar Association’s Region 4 Client Counseling Competition held at Charlotte School of Law in Charlotte, N.C., on Feb. 11. The competition topic this year was privacy law. Students, acting as lawyers, competed in their ability to interview, counsel and support a client through a legal issue. Team members Lucy Bertino 2L and Christine John 2L also reached the finals and placed third. This is the third time in the last four years that UNC has won the regional championship. Hillgrove and Zbonack will advance to the national competition in Oklahoma later this month with Professor O.J. Salinas as their coach.
Negotiation Competition
After winning the American Bar Association Southeast Negotiation Competition last fall, Nick Hanna 3L and Josephine Kim 3L competed in the national championship in Chicago on Feb. 2-4. The negotiation topic was business law. The duo became the first team in Carolina Law history to become national finalists, winning the "Top Four" National Finalist Award. The competition involved more than 200 law schools nationwide, and the finals comprised of top teams from 10 regional competitions. Hanna and Kim received the best scores in the semi-final round—perfect marks—that allowed them to advance to the finals. They were coached by Professor Sam Jackson ’77.
BLSA’s National Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition
Emon Northe 2L and Chelsea Barnes 2L were the first appellate advocacy team in Carolina Law’s history to compete in the National Black Law Students Association’s Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 1-5. Through this competition, the team was able to develop their appellate advocacy through oral arguments and brief writing, network with professionals and connect with law students across the country. Northe and Barnes “performed like veterans, demonstrating tremendous poise, polish and skill,” said their coach, Professor William P. Marshall.
UCLA’s Williams Institute Moot Court Competition
Another first for UNC School of Law: Evan King 2L and Gigi Warner 2L competed in UCLA's Williams Institute Moot Court Competition in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 4. This LAMBDA Appellate Advocacy Team was the first in Carolina Law’s history to participate in this competition, and did so with “diction and strength,” according to Professor Donald T. Hornstein. King and Warner competed with their oral arguments and brief writing skills, and represented Carolina Law well.
Southeast Regional for the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition
Carolina Law’s Intellectual Property Law Appellate Advocacy Team—consisting of Christian Ferlan 2L, Varsha Mangal 3L, Amanda Ruff 3L and Yishi Yin 3L—took second place at the Southeast Regional for the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 11. They will be advancing to Washington, D.C., with their coach, Professor Deborah Gerhardt, later this semester to compete for the National Trademark-Law title.
2Ls Christopher Deck, Lucas Jensen, Travis White and Amy Schmitz also represented Carolina Law.
NAPABA’s 2016 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
Carolina Law’s Asian American Law Student Association team, consisting of 2Ls Richard Chen and Farrah Raja, represented UNC at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association 2016 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, Ga. on Sept. 30. The competition gives participants the opportunity to show off their writing and oral advocacy skills and allows them to compete for scholarships. Chen and Raja were coached by Professor Catherine Kim.
William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition
The Julius L. Chambers Civil Rights Appellate Advocacy Team, consisting of 3Ls Matt Tomsic, Jessica Willson and Miranda Wodarski and coached by Professor Mark Dorosin ’94, competed in the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition in Saint Paul, Minn., on Feb 17-18. The competition deals with pending decisions on civil rights and civil liberties issues.
Emory University School of Law Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition
Matt Burke 3L, Abbie Henderson 3L and Sara Matecun 3L represented Carolina Law at the 10th Annual Emory University School of Law Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, Ga., on Oct. 14-16. Coached by Professor Mark Dorosin ’94, this competition ties the work of UNC’s Center for Civil Rights to the law school's educational mission.
2016 William & Mary Law School Negotiation Tournament
The school’s National Negotiation Team, consisting on 2Ls Roy Dixon, Emily Jessup, Kyle Jones and Jack Middough, finished in the top half of their field at the William & Mary Law School Negotiation Tournament in Williamsburg, Va., on Nov. 5-6. Kaitlin Nucci 2L and Benjamin Williams 2L also represented Carolina Law at William & Mary’s Invitational/Environmental Negotiation Competition.
Try-Outs
A record number of 1Ls – more than eighty percent of the class—signed up to receive the mini-brief-writing packet for the 1L Moot Court Brief-Writing try-outs this year. Sixty percent of the class of 2019 ended up submitting a brief for the written component. The second round of tryouts, consisting of the oral component, will take place on Mar. 24-28.
-March 10, 2017