Seventh Circuit Day, Part 1: The Cases and Arguments

Judges at the bench
Seventh Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook, Chief Judge Diane Sykes, and Judge Michael Brennan, in Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center on Sept. 25, 2025.

We would have welcomed the unusual opportunity for Eckstein Hall to serve for a day as a venue for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in any circumstances. That the particular occasion—September 25, 2025—was during the final days of the tenure of the Hon. Diane S. Sykes, L’84, as the court’s chief judge, made Seventh Circuit Day “extra special” for the Marquette Law School community.

The memorable day this semester had multiple components, as we will seek to capture in a series of blog posts during the next couple of weeks. The main event was the six oral arguments that the court held, all in cases on appeal from a federal district court in Wisconsin. The panel consisted of Chief Judge Sykes, who presided; the Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook, a judge of the court since 1985; and the Hon. Michael B. Brennan, who joined the court in 2018. Without rivaling Chief Judge Sykes’s claim on us (or ours on her), the latter two judges are familiar to (and with) Marquette Law School: to give only one example for each of their connections, Judge Easterbrook spoke at the groundbreaking for Eckstein Hall in 2008, and Judge Brennan taught here as an adjunct faculty member in the 1990s.

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Moot Court Team Reaches Quarterfinals in Los Angeles

Marquette’s Labor and Employment Law Moot Court team wasn’t the only Marquette moot court to reach quarterfinals in a competition in March.

Team members Annie Gonring and Ron Tenuta successfully argued their way into quarterfinals at the UCLA Williams Institute National Moot Court Competition. Their quarterfinal round ended up being a re-match of one of their preliminaries rounds, against a competitive team.

Although Gonring and Tenuta did not advance to the semifinals, they did achieve high oral argument scores from the judges, with Gonring, in particular, named by several judges as an outstanding oralist. Their brief also tied for third place in the competition.

Madeline Lewis and Aimeé Treviño—Marquette’s other team—did not advance past the preliminary round, but they put in strong performances, with Trevino named by one judge as the best advocate in her round.

This marked Marquette’s first time in this competition and our two teams showed that Marquette was a presence to contend with.

The team was advised by Professor Lisa Mazzie, and coached by Attorneys Alexa Bradley (L’18), Bryn Baker (L’18), and Courtney Roelandts (L’18).

(From left to right) Madeline Lewis, Aimeé Treviño, Annie Gonring, and Ron Tenuta pose next to a bust of Abraham Lincoln at UCLA Law School.
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Moot Court Team Reaches Quarterfinals in NY

Earlier this month, 3Ls Jake Apostolu, Hunter Cone, and Ilana Friedman did Marquette proud at New York Law School’s 47th Annual Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition. 

After the preliminary rounds, the team advanced to the octofinals. The team then advanced to the quarterfinals, though did not advance past that level.

But in addition to advancing as one of the top eight teams, the team’s brief was the fourth best of the forty team briefs in the competition. The team worked exceptionally hard, and that hard work paid off. Great job, team!

The team was advised by Professor Rebecca Blemberg, and coached by Professor Blemberg and Attorneys Corey Swinick (L’17) (who successfully competed in the same competition during law school) and Adam Tutaj (L’99).

(From left to right) Hunter Cone, Ilana Friedman, Jake Apostolu, and Attorney Corey Swinick (L’17) celebrate outside of New York Law School.
Continue ReadingMoot Court Team Reaches Quarterfinals in NY
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