The close of the school year is a good time to reflect on our students’ accomplishments in the 2009-10 Moot Court Program.

First, a summary of the efforts of the mostly third-year students who competed in what we call the “national competitions,” i.e., competitions among students from different law schools.  This year, 40 Marquette Law School students in 15 teams competed in 12 different competitions, in various locations throughout the United States.

Our National Appellate Advocacy Competition adventures came to an end today.  One team advanced to the semifinal rounds, and I tried to explain to the teams that their performances were really outstanding accomplishments.  But I don’t think it helped much.  We also learned that the Labor and Employment Law team failed to reach the finals; though, again, from my perspective, their performance was terrific.

The rainy day here suited our mood pretty well.  We consoled ourselves with Italian food and desserts at the North End.  I think we’d all recommend Mike’s pastry.

It’s easier for me to say, being the coach and not the advocates, but I really do hope that the students can appreciate what an accomplishment it is to make such a good showing in these national competitions.  Eventually, anyway.  (I told them that I think it only took me about ten years to get over my own team’s loss in the National Moot Court Competition, when I was in law school.)