Moot Court Teams Shine

Lewis & Clark has a reputation for consistently fielding exceptionally strong moot court teams. The Law School’s 2009-10 teams carried on the tradition, performing admirably in regional, national, and international competitions. Students who participate in moot court typically spend many hours preparing and practicing for their competitions, and the results described below are a testament to their commitment to honing their advocacy skills.

Animal Law Moot Court

In February, Lewis & Clark law students competed against teams from 22 schools at the seventh annual National Animal Law Competition at Harvard Law School, an event cohosted by the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark.

Josh Allen ’11, Mark Billingsley ’10, Bryan Telegin ’10, and Tara Zuardo ’10 were in the moot court competition. Jessica Su Johnson ’11 and Megan Lemire ’10 separately participated in the closing argument and legislative drafting/lobbying competition. Erin Walkowiak ’11 took part in the closing argument competition.

The team of Telegin and Billingsley reached the finals in the appellate moot court competition after a very strong performance in the semifinals. Pamela Frasch, assistant dean of the Animal Law Program and executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark, said, “Bryan and Mark knocked it out of the ballpark in the semifinals and gave a great final round performance, earning

second place.” Frasch had similar praise for Walkowiak, who reached the finals in the closing argument competition and earned second place. “Erin did a fantastic job. We’re really proud of her and all of our team members.”

Pace National Environ-mental Moot Court

For the third year in a row, Lewis & Clark’s team won the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. John Krallman ’11, Ben Luckett ’10, and Lizzy Zultoski ’10 triumphed over 83 other teams to win on February 20. Krallman, Luckett,

and Zultoski defeated teams from the University of Utah and Loyola of New Orleans in the quarterfinals, Santa Clara and the University of Miami in the semifinals, and the University of Houston and the University of Wyoming in the finals. With 84 teams participating this year, Lewis & Clark triumphed over more schools than any other championship team in the competition’s history.

In addition to being the third year in a row that Lewis & Clark has won this competition, it was also the seventh time the school has won in the last 17 years. Only one other law school has won the competition more than once—and that school has won only twice. Team member Lizzy Zultoski is now a two-time national champion. She is only the third Pace advocate to qualify for this honor in the competition’s 22-year history, joining Nancy Perry ’95 and Jenifer Johnston ’95 in that elite group.

Professor Craig Johnston ’85, the team coach, noted, “Our team not only did 30 practice rounds, they spent innumerable hours in between those rounds mastering the intricacies of the problem. Their hard work clearly paid off.” Johnston also extended his gratitude to the faculty, alumni, and friends of the program who judged practice rounds with him. “First and foremost, I have to thank my current colleagues and former moot court superstars Allison LaPlante ’02, Dan Mensher ’07, and Melissa Powers ’01. Not only do they invest incredible time and energy in helping the team prepare, they are such fine exemplars of the program that all I need

to tell our current students to motivate them is that Melissa, Dan, and Allison all think this was the most valuable thing they did in law school.”

Other faculty and friends who judged rounds or provided other support include Professor Bill Funk, Professor Dan Rohlf, Professor Amy Bushaw, Clinical Professor Aubrey Baldwin ’05, Associate Professor Tomás Gómez-Arostegui, Clinical Professor Kathy Hessler, Professor Steve Johansen ’87, Associate Director of Environmental Law Lin Harmon ’91, Associate Professor Joe Miller, Associate Dean Janice Weis, Associate Professor Chris Wold ’90, Professor Jan Neuman, Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, Paul Conable ’97, Julie Weis ’97, David Bledsoe, and Dean Bob Klonoff. Said Johnston, “We couldn’t do this without the fantastic support we receive from everyone here at Lewis & Clark.”

Jessup International Moot Court

Lewis & Clark’s Jessup International Moot Court team—Lauren Cullop ’10, Dan Rowan ’11, Stephen Schwindt ’11,

Vince Sliwoski ’10, and Joe Terrenzio ’11—won this year’s Mid-Atlantic Super-Regional Competition. The event was held

at George Washington University on February 20. Lewis & Clark ranked first out of the 24 teams going into the quarterfinals with a record of four wins and zero losses; the team then defeated George Washington Law School in the quarterfinals, American in the semifinals, and Georgetown in the final. In the process, it also won the regional best memorials (briefs) award. Out of 93 speakers, Rowan and Sliwoski tied for 8th place and Terrenzio placed 11th. The team is coached by Dagmar Butte ’91.

With the victory, the team qualified for the Jessup World Cup, held in Washington, D.C., in March. The competition featured 127 of the world’s top teams, representing more than 80 countries, as well as the top 12 super-regional U.S. teams. The fourth Lewis & Clark team to take part in the international competition in the past 20 years (the previous teams competed in 1990, 2006, and 2007), Cullop, Rowan, Schwindt, Sliwoski, and Terrenzio narrowly lost their first match to Loyola-Chicago in a split decision before going on to defeat the University of Texas and the national champion teams of Colombia and France. Advancing to the run-off rounds, the team defeated the Chinese national champions to reach the octa-finals (competition among the top 16 teams). There, the Lewis & Clark team lost in a hotly contested match against the eventual world champions, National University of Australia.

Sliwoski finished in the top 20 oralists, out of more than 400 competing. He was one of only six oralists to receive a score

of 99 or higher during the entire tournament, for which he also received special recognition.

Lewis & Clark is now also the permanent host for the Pacific Super-Regional Competition, which includes teams from law schools throughout the West Coast and Hawai‘i.

ABA National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition

Amanda Caffall ’11, Laura Maurer ’11, Damien Munsinger ’11, and Oliver O’Brien ’11 competed in March at the ABA National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition, an invitation-only event held annually in Chicago. Teams from 21 law schools across the United States participated. Caffall and Munsinger each received a “perfect score” award in the second round. Judge Cheryl Albrecht ’93 and Mark Griffin ’76 were their coaches.

Animal Law Moot Court team members and coaches. Top row: Mark Billingsley ’10, Bryan Telegin ’10, and Josh Allen ’11. Bottom row: Clinical Professor Kathy Hessler, Erin Walkowiak ’11, Tara Zuardo ’10, Assistant Dean Pam Frasch, and Jessica Su Johnson ’11.

Professor Craig Johnston ’85, John Krallman ’11, Lizzy Zultoski ’10, and Ben Luckett ’10.

Dan Rowan ’11, Vince Sliwoski ’10, Joe

Terrenzio ’11, Stephen Schwindt ’11, Dagmar Butte ’91, and Lauren Cullop ’10 (with mascot).

Laura Maurer ’11, Oliver O’Brien ’11, Amanda Caffall ’11, and Damien Munsinger ’11 in the lobby of the Daley Center Courthouse in Chicago.