UVA Law Students Have Banner Year in Moot Court Competitions

The Extramural Moot Court Team, a student organization at the University of Virginia School of Law that hones appellate advocacy skills, sent 19 teams to competitions across the country this school year with big results, including a recent national win at an intellectual property moot held in Washington, D.C.

"We had unprecedented success this year," said third-year law student Vanessa Vogler, outgoing president of the organization. "Nearly half of the 18 teams we sent to competitions won an award or placed at their competitions. We had multiple first- and second-place finishes."

The team of third-year law student Andrew Jones and first-year law student Kain Day won the American Intellectual Property Law Association's annual contest, the Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition. The finals were held April 13-15 in D.C., following the pair's win at the AIPLA Southeastern Regional, where they also won in the categories of best appellant brief and best team oral presentation.

Pictured at the Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition, the winners stand with judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Judge Timothy B. Dyk, Joshua Kain Day '18, Chief Judge Sharon Prost, Andrew Jones '16 and Judge Jimmie V. Reyna.

Pictured at the Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition, the winners stand with judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Judge Timothy B. Dyk, Joshua Kain Day '18, Chief Judge Sharon Prost, Andrew Jones '16 and Judge Jimmie V. Reyna.

Earlier this year, third-year law student Ben Weyman and first-year law student Henry Morris won the National Baseball Arbitration Competition, sponsored by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The event was held in January at Tulane University Law School.

In other contests:

• Sami Al-Marzoog '17 (the incoming Moot Court Team president) and David Williams '16 won second place in the National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competition.
• Jeremy Bennie '18 and Kavya Parsa '18 won second place in the New York University Immigration Law Moot Court Competition.
• James Tomberlin '18 and Alex Nemtzow '17 won third place in the Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Law Competition, Atlanta Regional.
• Alli Herzog '18 and Kyle Burns '17 were semifinalists in the Craven Constitutional Law Competition.
• Megan Shoell '18 and Wil Van Winkle '18 were quarterfinalists in the National Child Welfare and Adoption Law Competition.
• Tuba Ahmed '17 and Cindy McGrath '16 were quarterfinalists in the Spong Constitutional Law Competition.
• Anna Searcey '18 and Alex Gorin '17 made "round of 16" in the Thurgood Marshall Federal Law Moot Court Competition.
• Ashwin Shandilya '16 won runner-up for best oralist in the Seigenthaler-Sutherland Cup National First Amendment Moot Court Competition.
• Tanner Russo '18 and Zach Nemtzow ’17 won third place for best brief in the Thurgood Marshall Federal Law Moot Court Competition.
• Claire Mitchell '17 and Jay Williamson '18 won third place for best brief in the BMI Entertainment and Communications Law Moot Court Competition.