Wayne Law Moot Court program sees increased success at competitions

The Wayne State University Law School Moot Court Outside Competitions Team recently wrapped up its 2013 season with one of the more successful years for the program. The team, made up of 10 junior members selected through competitive tryouts, travels to four different competitions that represent four different areas of the law. Senior members who competed the previous year return to serve as coaches, and bring in local practitioners, alumni and professors to judge the competitors during their practices. Some key changes took place this year in the lineup of competitions, and four teams were created, putting a greater emphasis on succeeding at competitions with "a heavier brief component than in prior years," said Kaitlyn Cramer, outside competitions director for the program. "I credit these changes, proposed by my fellow senior member coaches, as integral to our success, along with the amazing talent and depth of this year's squad," Cramer said. "They have worked incredibly hard and represented our school and our alumni well. Along with this year's success at the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court competition (Cramer is a Jessup team member) and National Environmental Law Moot Court competition at Pace Law School, our moot court program is undoubtedly turning heads." The faculty advisor for the Wayne Law Moot Court Outside Competitions Team is Legal Writing Instructor Amy Neville, and the team members thanked her for her valuable guidance and support. The four outside competitions for the team this year were: * The 29th annual Cardozo/MBI Entertainment and Communications Law Moot Court Competition, held Feb. 28-March 3 at Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York. Wayne Law competitors were Jake Vorkapich (Windsor, Ontario) and Christina Bertrand (Warren) coached by Rebecca McNulty and Frances Murphy. The team moved on to the octofinals of the contest, and Vorkapich was named seventh-best oralist in a field of 64 students. * The 37th annual Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition, held March 21-24 at the New York Law School. Wayne Law competitors were Kevin McQuillan (Toledo, Ohio), Stephanie Eisenberg (West Bloomfield) and Lauren Saad (New Baltimore), coached by Kate McCarthy and Jarett Smith. The team moved on to the octofinals of the contest, and won third-place best petitioner brief out of nearly 40 schools competing. * The 20th annual John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition, held March 22-23 at Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey. Wayne Law competitors were Michael Butterfield (Kalamazoo) and Wade Fink (Bloomfield Hills), coached by Kyle Kamidoi and Ryan J. Fishman. * The 28th annual Dean Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition, held April 4-6 at Brooklyn Law School in New York. Wayne Law competitors were Blair Gould (Dayton, Ohio), Evan Malinowski (Livonia) and Joseph Gale (West Bloomfield), coached by Cramer and Bonnie Smith. Published: Tue, May 14, 2013