The University of Tennessee College of Law’s Moot Court team is headed to the national final rounds of the National Moot Court Competition after a recent clean sweep at the Region Seven competition.
At the regional competition, held at Loyola University of New Orleans, the team of Erin Phillips (’18), Spenser Powell (’17), and Alex Thomason (’17) won the award for best brief and defeated teams with the second, third, fourth, and fifth best brief scores to reach the final round. In the championship round, the team beat Mississippi College and Powell was named the best oralist, thus qualifying the team for the national final rounds.
The team will begin training for the nation final rounds, which will be held at the New York City Bar Association from January 30 to February 2, 2017, when classes resume in early January.
“The success our teams have enjoyed is attributable in large part to the UT Law community’s willingness to judge and critique the team in preparation for the competition,” said John Sobieski, the Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor of Law who co-advises the team with Joseph Cook, the Williford Gragg Distinguished Professor of Law. “Sincere thanks to all of you who helped prepare the team for the regional competition. I know I can count on you once again to help the team prepare for the final phase of the competition.”
Dean Melanie D. Wilson also offered praise saying, “This type of win comes from tremendous effort and time commitment and it raises the profile and national reputation of UT Law.”
Designed to promote the art of appellate advocacy, the National Moot Court Competition is the oldest and largest moot court competition in the United States. It is sponsored by the Young Lawyers Committee of the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers. More than 150 law schools compete each year in regional competitions, and the top two teams from each of the fifteen regions compete in the finals in New York City.