Chapman Team Claims First Place in Regional Round of Prestigious National Moot Court Competition
November 20, 2015
The Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law competition teams continued an already successful semester with a first-place finish at the prestigious National Moot Court Competition regional round in Los Angeles over the weekend.
The competition, co-sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers, is one of the largest moot court competitions in the country. More than 180 accredited law schools, totaling more than 1,000 students, participate in the program annually. Only 30 teams advance to the national finals.
Fowler School of Law’s teams were made up of the following: Kaitlin Peterson
(JD ’16)
, Eman Kazempour
(JD ’16)
and Kathryn Harrold
(JD ’16)
; and Jade McKenzie
(JD ’16)
, April Cristal
(JD ’16)
and Joseph Gallo
(JD ’17)
. After preliminary rounds, both teams advanced to the semifinals (beating out teams from the law schools at Loyola, Thomas Jefferson and Pepperdine), where they competed against each other.
Students from Fowler School of Law’s competition teams claimed first place in the regional round of the prestigious National Moot Court Competition last weekend.
Kaitlin, Eman and Kathryn went on to win the regional championship, securing their seat at the competition’s national finals in New York City in February. They were also recognized for having the second-best brief in the region. Jade, April and Joseph beat USC to take third place overall. Each school is allowed to have only one team advance to the national finals.
April Cristal, Joseph Gallo and Jade McKenzie at the Los Angeles regional National Moot Court Competition
This is the third competition so far this year where Fowler School of Law teams have advanced to national final rounds. Others included the
Intellectual Property LawMeet
(where Noell Rice
(JD ’17)
, Melissa DuChene
(JD ’17)
and Jeffrey Kuhnke
(JD ’17)
advanced to the national finals) and the
Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition, where our teams made it to the quarterfinals and semifinals at the national level, and one Fowler advocate, Michael Tang (JD ’17), was recognized as the second best advocate in the nation for this competition.
Michael and his partner, Sonia Masters
(JD ’17)
, won their regional competition and were also recognized for having written the best brief at the regional. Jonathan Shin
(JD ’16)
and Lindsay Niles
(JD ’16)
reached the semifinals at the national competition. Lindsay was also recognized as the second place advocate at the regional level.
In addition, earlier this semester Fowler School of Law placed third out of 40 teams at the
National Sports Law Negotiation Competition
. This was the fourth year in a row that a Fowler School of Law team made it to the final round at the competition, a feat no other school has matched.
“This has been a remarkable semester. Our teams have worked very hard, and it shows,” said Professor Nancy Schultz, director of the competitions program. “Most importantly, they are learning what it means to be a member of our proud profession, and developing skills and values that will serve them well in their careers after law school. I could not be more proud of their effort and accomplishments, and of the way they conduct themselves.”
Congratulations to our impressive Fowler School of Law students!