Kentucky

A moot court team from the UofL Brandeis School of Law recently won a national championship in the New York University Immigration Law Competition, placing first out of 16 teams from around the country.



Law students Duffy Trager and Rachel Carmona argued for the team, which had to take on a case involving recidivism in immigration law. Maria Mourad worked on the brief and preparation for oral arguments.

"We really put ourselves through the paces before we got there," said Trager of the team's intense preparation for the event.

Carmona agreed that the secret to their success was practice, practice and more practice. "The more practice you can get, the better your chances-and we practiced all the time," said Carmona, who credited the team's coach, professor Enid Trucios-Haynes, and facilitator Jamie Izlar for preparing them.

UofL teams placed second in the International Commercial Arbitration competition at Loyola University and the Kentucky Intrastate Mock Trial Competition. A UofL team also submitted the national second-place brief in the Saul Lefkowitz National Trademark Competition.



The university also had semi-finalist teams in the American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition, the National Animal Law competition and the Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Competition (Intellectual Property Law) and quarter finalists in the National Health Law Moot Court Competition and the Florida Bar Association National Tax Law Competition.



The law school had 18 moot court teams this year that included 50 to 60 students-all second-year law students or higher. Faculty members as well as local attorneys coach and facilitate the teams.

 

Full Story: "National Champs: Moot court team continues strong tradition" by Kevin Hyde (UofL Today, April 29, 2010)