NAAC Teams Shine in Philadelphia

Twenty-three teams from across the country arrived in Philadelphia at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on February 16, all prepared to present oral arguments in the National Appellate Advocacy Competition regional. Two of those teams were from Marquette University Law School, and they shone.

Emily Ward and Kyle Elderkin at the National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Philadelphia.

First, 3L team Kyle (Kip) Elderkin, Emily Ward, and Jessica Zimpfer. Unfortunately, a couple of days before the competition, Zimpfer became ill and was unable to travel. The loss of able advocate Zimpfer meant that Ward had only a couple of days to prepare to argue both sides of their issue. Even so, Ward and Elderkin advanced to the regional semifinals, but lost in that round. Both received perfect oral advocacy scores from one of the judges in an earlier round.

Andrew Holzmann, Abigail Kincheloe, and J.P. Curran at the National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Philadelphia.

Second, 3L team J.P. Curran, Andrew Holzmann, and Abigail Kincheloe. These three argued their way into the regional finals round—one win away from advancing to the national competition—but did not prevail. However, their brief tied for fourth best in the region, and Andy Holzmann was named eighth best oralist in the region.

Congratulations to each team member for their outstanding representation of Marquette Law. And our deepest gratitude goes to Attorneys Julie Leary (L’20), Jay McDivitt (L’21), Ben Edelstein (L’22), and Kyle Frank (L’22), who devoted many hours to coaching the teams. Thank you, too, to the many guest judges: Xavier Jenkins (L’21), Rebeca Lopez (L’12), Dan Murphy (L’16), Jacob Rozema (L’20), Zach Willenbrink (L’11), and Adam Woodside (L’18).

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Marquette Teams Make Successful Showing at NMCC Regionals

Marquette University Law School hosted the Region VIII round of the 73th annual National Moot Court Competition on November 19-20, 2022. Both Marquette teams made successful showings.

four people standing in front of a fireplace, all of them wearing business suits. On the left is a man in a blue suit and red tie. Next to him is a women in a black skirt suit, with her dark hair pulled back. Next to her is a short woman in a navy blue pantsuit with her black hair pulled back. Next to her is a blonde woman in a navy blue pantsuit. All of them are smiling big smiles.
(from left to right) Travis Goeden, Ruth Nord-Pekar, Fefe Jaber, and Nicole Jennings.

Team members Travis Goeden and Ruth Nord-Pekar advanced to the semifinal round before being eliminated after losing by less than three-tenths of a point. Professor Melissa Love Koenig advised the team, which was coached by attorneys Kieran O’Day (L’20) and Evan Thomson.

Fefe Jaber and Nicole Jennings advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated after losing a close round to the other Marquette team. Professor Lisa Mazzie advised the team, and attorneys Alicia Bernards (L’22), Lauren Brasington (L’22), Carsyn Bushman (L’22), Chal Little (L’16), Haley Wentz (L’20), and Christopher Vandeventer (L’22) coached the team.

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MULS Students Show Off Oral Advocacy Skills in San Diego

two young men in suits standing in front of the University of San Diego School of Law. One man has dark hair and the other man is taller with blonde hair.
Julian Marrufo (left) and Cameron Rink (right)

Julian Marrufo and Cameron Rink, both 3Ls, had a successful weekend in San Diego at the National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Tournament, held November 4-6, 2022 and the University of San Diego School of Law.

Rink and Marrufo argued in four preliminary rounds against teams from Nova Southeastern, Thomas Jefferson, South Texas, and the University of Houston. They succeeded in advancing as the higher seed to the octofinals, where they faced a team from the University of Wisconsin.

The team’s legal issues involved the legality of the use of an automatic license plate retrieval system, which uses cameras on public roads to scan passing license plate numbers, to track a mass shooting suspect without a warrant and the legality of a subsequent warrantless entry into the suspect’s home.

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