3/04/05—Boston College Law School’s advocacy teams continued to shine in competition, as the Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Team won its regional bracket and advanced to the national level. The Administrative/Environmental Moot Court team was runner-up in the national competition, and the Jessup International Law Moot Court team was runner-up in their regional competition. These teams join the Client Counseling team (see previous story), which took home the regional crown from their competition last month for the second year in a row, and will compete in the national competition this month. Last year’s National Champion, the Braxton Craven Constitutional Law Moot Court team, advanced to the quarterfinals this year before losing a closely-contested match.

The Environmental Law Moot Court team, composed of students P.J. Hannon, Cesar Pereira, and Chris Primiano, competed against 78 teams from across the county in the national competition, and lost the championship by a very small margin. Hannon took home the competition’s Best Oralist Award (see photo gallery).

“Congratulations to our superb team, arguing in the final round at the end of an extremely tough competition,” said Professor Zyg Plater, team coach. “I was so proud of them, every step of their arduous way.”

The Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Team, composed of students Sarah Thomas, Neil Schumacher, and Scott Allen, won the regional competition in New York City (out of 13 teams) for the second year in a row, and will advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C. in two weeks. The team won both the Best Oralist award and the overall award in an impressive showing.

The Jessup International Law Moot Court team, composed of students Allen Crede, Ellen King, Scott Magee, Lara Zaroulis, and Rachel Valez, put up an impressive showing, earning the highest total score in the preliminary round before losing a final match described as “exceedingly close” by all three judges. All four of BC’s oralists finished in the top ten, capturing ninth, seventh, third, and second place. The BC team also took second place for its Memorials.

“In celebrating our advocacy teams I also want to give [Director of Advocacy Programs] Tom Carey a round of applause,” said Plater. “Tom gave the students depth as well as breadth in their command of each competition problem, plus an awareness of how unexpected alternative arguments can come at them at any moment. Tom gives our students a remarkable program of training and supportive mentoring, drawing well from his own experiences on his feet in years of appellate advocacy. The results are charted in our teams’ successes. The Environmental team had never before gotten so far.”

The new European Law Moot Court Team received good news this week as well: not only will the team, established on a pilot basis this year, compete again next year, but the Boston College Law School has been chosen to host a ELMC regional competition in 2006 (see previous story).