UGA School of Law advocacy teams sweep state tournament; place high in national competitions

Abstract

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Writer: Leigh Tenewitz, 706/542-5172, lawprstu@uga.edu Contact: Kellie Casey Monk, 706/542-2739, krcasey@uga.edu

UGA School of Law advocacy teams sweep state tournament; place high in national competitions

Athens, Ga. - Recently, the University of Georgia School of Law swept the 2008 Intrastate Moot Court Competition with two teams from UGA advancing to the final round of the tournament and capturing both the Best Brief and Best Oralist awards. UGA defeated teams from each of the state's law schools - Emory University, Georgia State University, Mercer University and John Marshall - in the annual contest.

The team of second-year law students Matthew A. Josephson, Titus T. Nichols and Robert D. Thomas won the championship trophy and received the Best Brief Award, while second-year students Kawania N. Brown, Audrey M. Seidle and David J. Younker finished the competition as finalists. Additionally, Younker earned the tournament's best oralist honor. Both UGA teams were coached by third-year students Catherine D. Runion and Rachel D. Horton.

"I couldn't be more proud of our students," Georgia Law Director of Advocacy Kellie Casey Monk said. "After the final round of the tournament, both teams from the School of Law were tied for first, and the judges had to use the brief scores to determine the top team. It was amazing to have an all-Georgia final and to capture all of the competition's awards."

The last time Georgia Law swept this intrastate contest was in 2006.

On the national front, Georgia Law captured third place at the Frederick Douglass National Moot Court Competition, after winning a regional qualifying contest earlier this year. Second-year student Melanie D. Reed received the Helen Dawn Williams Award for superior oral argument skills demonstrated at the tournament. Her teammate was second-year student Arlisa A. Woodard. More than 100 teams from across the country competed in the contest. The pair was coached by third-year law student Aimee L. Pickett.

Additionally, Georgia Law second-year students Sherrie L. Hines, Erin M. Rush and Manoj S. "Sachin" Varghese finished as quarterfinalists in the national Dean Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Moot Court Competition, defeating three teams before losing to the eventual tournament champion, Campbell University School of Law. The team was coached by third-year student Colby E. Longley and Georgia Law alumnus Andrew D. Stancil.

These competitions complete the 2007-08 advocacy season for Georgia Law. In total, the law school won three national and four regional/state championships in addition to numerous individual and team honors.

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