L&C Wins National Animal Law Competitions

Lewis & Clark students dominated the 9th Annual National Animal Law Competitions this past weekend at UCLA School of Law.

The team of Andrew Erickson (2L) and Maggie Hall (2L) bested Yale in the semi-finals to get to the final round, and then beat a very tough University of Chicago team to claim the top prize in the appellate moot court component of the competition.

Maggie Hall claimed the top prize for best overall oralist of the competition, earning an unprecedented perfect score from one judge. In the closing argument component, Lora Dunn (2L) and Jaclyn Leeds (2L) went up against top teams into the final round, with Jaclyn coming out on top as the champion. This marks the first time both Lewis & Clark competitors made it to the finals.

Other law school students who performed well were Kathryn Walter (3L) and Aurelia Erickson (3L) (appellate moot court), and Nick Stack (3L) (legislative drafting and lobbying).

The students benefited from the time and efforts of superb coaches. Professors Kathy Hessler and Aliza Kaplan coached the appellate moot court teams; alumni Jake Bush coached the closing argument competitors with assistance from Professor Hessler; and Mark Cushing coached the participants in the legislative drafting and lobbying competition.

Numerous Lewis & Clark professors and staff judged practice rounds throughout the several weeks leading up to the competition. That investment of time proved critical to the students’ success and educational experience.