TJSL’s Moot Court Honor Society Competes in New York
April 3, 2012
By RuthAnne Bergt 2L
Evan Garcia, Jonathan Yu and Samantha Ciriaco competed in the 20th Annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition March 10-12, in New York. Duberstein is one of the most prestigious competitions that TJSL’s Moot Court Honor Society competes in and was coached by Assistant Dean Arnold Rosenberg and Adjunct Professor William Smelko.
The team spent winter break meeting via Skype and writing the competition brief, which was due in January. Evan, Jonathan and Samantha participated in about 30 practices judged by local attorneys and, on March 2, TJSL hosted a joint practice session with USD’s Moot Court Team.
Evan and Jonathan competed twice on Saturday, March 10, and again on Sunday, March 11, dominating in the last two rounds. The 56 teams were then cut down to the top 16. Our team had great scores and feedback from the judges and just narrowly missed making it into the top 16. On Monday, they watched the final rounds at The Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse in Brooklyn and then attended the 900-person gala on Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers. The team stayed in a hotel right on Times Square, so in their down time they were able to explore the city.
The team would like to extend a special thank you to the following judges, faculty and attorneys who took time out of their schedules to help them prepare: Dean Rosenberg, Professor Smelko, Professor Michael O’Halloran, Hon. John Hargrove, Associate Dean Mary Jo Wiggins (USD), Jeff Isaacs, Victor Vilaplana, Phil Giles, Brian J. McGoldrick, Steven Berman, Kyle Pietrzak, Mike Nichols, Haeji Hong, Matt Riopelle, Richard Stevenson, Ajay Gupta, Gary Rudolph, Michael Breslauer, Steven A. Marczeski, Christopher G. Hook, Olivia Malmstrom, Tracy L. Schimelfenig, Larissa Lazarus, John Varley, and Heidi Brown.