Marquette Law School – Page 115 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Congratulations to the 2014 Marquette National Moot Court Teams

Post author:Melissa Love Koenig
Post published:November 10, 2014
Post category:Legal Education Legal Practice Legal Writing Marquette Law School Public

I had the privilege of working with two outstanding National Moot Court Competition (NMCC) teams again this year. Marquette hosted the Region VIII round of the 65th Annual NMCC this weekend and included thirteen participating teams. Marquette fielded two teams; please congratulate both on their strong finishes.

Michelle Cahoon, James Decleene, and Brian Kane took the best Petitioner’s brief award with the top scoring brief in the competition. The team advanced the semifinal round and just missed qualifying for nationals by less than a point. Attorneys Jesse Blocher, Michael Cerjak, and Brendon Reyes coached the team. Brendon, now an attorney practicing in Waukesha, was a member of last year’s national team. Jesse was a member of one of my first NMCC teams.

Jennifer McNamee and Elizabeth Oestreich advanced to the quarterfinals and were the number 1 seed after the preliminaries, after particularly strong showings in their oral arguments. That team was coached by Attorneys Emily Lonergan, Jason Luczak, and Max Stephenson. Elizabeth, Emily, and Max happened all to have (Elizabeth), or had (Emily and Jason), the role of Chief Justice of our Moot Court Association. I enjoyed watching the students and coaches on both teams working together and getting to know each other.

Marquette Team Wins Best Petitioner Brief at National Criminal Procedure Tournament

Post author:Melissa Love Koenig
Post published:November 10, 2014
Post category:Legal Education Legal Writing Marquette Law School Public

Congratulations to 3Ls Katie Seelow and Derek Waterstreet for being awarded the best Petitioner’s brief in the National Criminal Procedure Tournament this past week in San Diego. The team’s advisor is Professor Thomas Hammer, and the team coaches are 3L Vanessa Paster and Attys. Brittany Kachingwe, Sarah McNutt, and Jennifer Severino. 3Ls Becky Van Dam and Joseph Wasserman also competed. That team is advised by Professor Susan Bay and coached by Vanessa Paster and Attys. Nick Cerwin and Chad Wozniak. Jennifer Severino traveled with the teams to support them in competition.

Mike Spector: The Passing of a Public Servant

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 4, 2014
Post category:Marquette Law School Milwaukee Public

I Michael-Spector1 set out in June to write a story for the current issue of Marquette Lawyer magazine about the state of the idea of local control of schools. I started with the expectation of saying local control was pretty much a fiction now, amid all the laws and regulatory mandates coming down from the federal and state governments.

The first person I went to talk to was Mike Spector. I knew if I wanted wisdom, perspective, and common sense, he was at the top of the list. And he knew a huge amount about schools – for decades, he was a leader as a lawyer and citizen in education matters in the Milwaukee area and throughout Wisconsin.

And it only took him a few minutes to shift my thinking on the piece I was going to write. He talked about the law on local control in Wisconsin. He talked about the history of specific issues. And he pointed out how local school boards, school administrators, and teachers can still put their own imprint on the education they offer. Look at how different communities have different education cultures and practices, he said, citing his home community of Shorewood, where he was involved in school governance for many years, and how its education culture differs from nearby communities.