February 24, 2012
The Law School’s
Moot Court Honor Society is off to a promising start this
spring season with successes at recent competitions around the
country.
The St. John’s team of Alex Heller ‘12, Bradley Small ‘12 and coach
Chris Rubino ’12 took first place at the Tulane Sports Law
Competition. Hosted by Tulane University Law School, this year’s
competition brought together 32 teams from law schools nationwide
to consider issues surrounding the National Basketball
Association’s lockout this winter. The winning St. John’s team
argued through seven appellate-style rounds scored by panels of
practicing attorneys, law professors and judges. The final round,
held in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,
brought the student advocates before three distinguished sports law
attorneys:
- Robert Batterman, Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP
- Gabe Feldman, Associate Professor of Law, Director, Tulane
Sports Law Program
- Richard House, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, New
Orleans Hornets
At the close of the Competition, Bradley Small was named
Competitor of the Year, an award given to the final round
participant with the highest oral argument average throughout the
competition.
“It has been great to bring two championships home to St. John’s
this year with Bradley,” said Heller, who currently serves as the
Moot Court Honor Society’s Executive Director. “This fall, I was
able to coach him to a championship at the Wechsler First Amendment
Competition and we now have this win together at the Sports Law
Competition. Small -- who is a Moot Court Honor Society Senior
Director of External Competitions -- echoed the sentiment, stating:
“None of this would have been possible without the help of everyone
associated with Moot Court, especially our coach Chris Rubino. I
hope what Alex and I have accomplished is only the
beginning.”
This first weekend of spring competition also saw two St. John’s
Moot Court teams advance at the William B. Spong Moot Court
Competition hosted by William & Mary Law School. The team of
Stephanie Zambrano ’13 and Matthew Gizzo ’13 advanced to the
semi-final round while Brian McLaughlin ‘12 and Megan Quail ‘12 got
to the quarter-finals. Both teams were coached by Moot Court
members Rebecca Rose ’12 and Sara Groningsater ’12, along with
Adjunct Professor Marilyn A. Filingeri ‘06. “I couldn't be prouder
of the students’ performance at the Spong Competition and can't
wait to see more from these wonderfully talented advocates,”
Professor Filingeri said. “The level of skill in the art of
appellate advocacy I see in our students surpasses that of some
practitioners.”
The weekend’s success continued at the National First Amendment
Competition hosted by Vanderbilt University Law School. Michael
Battema ’13 and Michael Mantovani ’13 advanced from the 38-team
field to the quarterfinal round. The team was coached by Justin
Zaroovabeli ‘12, a Senior Director of External Competitions for the
Moot Court Honor Society, as well as former Moot Court Honor
Society member Tara McDevitt ‘10.
The Moot Court Honor Society at St. John’s School of Law trains its
member in effectively advocating through writing and oral
arguments. Each year, its members compete in over 15 competitions
nationwide as well as two internal competitions for second-year
students. The Moot Court Honor Society also co-hosts the annual
Hon. Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition.