Four Schulich School of Law students are bound for an international moot competition in Washington, DC later this week after defeating 17 other Canadian teams in national rounds earlier this year.Ìę
Nicole Arski, Brent Campagnola, Julia Hiltz and Taline Selman earned the national championship title at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot in Winnipeg in late February with a resounding victory over the University of Toronto in the final. A moot is a mock trial that simulates real legal proceedings.
The Jessup Moot team's hard work and dedication in national rounds also earned them First Place Memorials (Written Submissions), First Place Applicant Memorial (Nicole Arski and Julia Hiltz), and Third Ranked Oralist Nationally (Julia Hiltz).
The team now proceeds to international rounds from April 8-15, where teams from nearly 100 countries will be competing. It is the first time since 2008 that Schulich Law will be represented at the world rounds and the first time the law school has won the national championship since 2000.
The team is coached by Schulich Law Professor Rob Currie and , a Dal Jessup alum and associate at Burchell Wickwire Bryson.
âThe Jessup is sometimes called âThe Monarch of Mootsâ because it has the largest international reach, and represents a tremendously difficult challenge for the students,â says Prof. Currie. âThey are faced with a hypothetical international law dispute between two fictitious states, though with issues that are âripped from the headlinesâ. This yearâs problem featured an armed conflict and related sanctions.â
Preparation is key for such a competition, says Prof. Currie.
âThey spend the first four months of the school year researching and writing their written submissions, then many hours practicing for the oral rounds. The quality of advocacy at the competition is extremely high and to win the national rounds is a great achievement. I could not be more proud of them.â
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Legal stalwarts help team prep
Late last month, the team held a moot practice round at the Weldon Law Building. Friends, family, classmates and faculty attended to wish them well as they prepared to represent ±«Óătv and Canada south of the border.Ìę
Guest bench judges included Sarah Douglas, associate at McInnes Cooper and Schulich Law Jessup team member 2020, Olabisi Akinkugbe, Dal's Viscount Bennett professor of law, and Phillip Saunders, an associate professor at Schulich Law and a ±«Óătv Law School Jessup team member from 1984 (World Champions) who won the Best Oralist award.
The Dal team members say they are grateful to the many practice judges who helped them get ready for the competition, including their friends in the ±«Óătv University Legal Counsel office, Stewart McKelvey, Burchell Wickwire Bryson, McInnes Cooper and the Halifax office of the Judge Advocate General. They also expressed thanks to Professors Saunders, Dunn, Lantz, Seck and Martin, as well as to Professor Anthony Daimsis of the University of Ottawa, who provided specialized advocacy training in the lead up to the International Rounds.Ìę
Due to the timing of the Washington trip, a number of the studentsâ academic obligations had to be re-arranged and great assistance has been provided in this regard by Lucie Guibault, associate dean of Schulich Law, Danielle Hill, and by those professors whose courses were involved.
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A highlight of the law school experience
The Washington trip also represents a significant expense for the law school. Local law firms Burchell Wickwire Bryson, Pink Larkin â at which team member Julia Hiltz will be articling in 2023-24 â and Stewart McKelvey have generously made donations to support the teamâs travel costs.
"I also want to single out Sarah MacLeod, whom we were fortunate enough to have on board as deputy coach this year," says Prof. Currie. "She put a massive amount of time into helping the team â on top of her busy practice at Burchell Wickwire Bryson â and played a central role in their success.â
The Schulich Law Jessup Moot Team is now looking ahead to the next stage of the competition.
âItâs a privilege to represent ±«Óătv, and Canada at the international rounds as National Champions,â the team shared in a message. âThe Philip C. Jessup moot has undoubtably been the highlight of our law school experience because of our excellent team dynamic and the invaluable support and expertise of our outstanding coaches and practice judges. We look forward to the next steps of this once in a lifetime experience and hope to make our supporters proud.â