3/27/25
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER
PRINCE NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION TEAM!
Please join the College of Law in congratulating our Anderson Center Prince Moot Court Team on their terrific performance at the 2025 Dean Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Moot Court Competition held this past weekend at Brooklyn Law School. This was the first year Illinois participated in Brooklyn’s Evidence Competition. Thirty-two teams took part in this year’s event. Cree Medley, Kayla Beckley, and Matthew Garrison argued exceedingly well during both of the preliminary rounds and advanced to Octofinals. The team continued to argue admirably during the Octo-rounds, but in the end, they were just edged out of advancing to the next round by the competition’s eventual winning team. Cree, Kayla, and Matt all received overwhelmingly positive comments from the judges regarding their oral advocacy skills and were praised for their conversational style, command of the lengthy record, and ability to handle complex issues of constitutional and evidence law. In addition the team also won Best Brief Runner-up! This year’s team was coached by Professor Johanna Christiansen. Congratulations to both team and coach on a job well done!
3/27/25
Good Luck to our Anderson Center Prince Moot Court Team who will be competing in the Fortieth Annual Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition hosted by Brooklyn Law School on April 3-5, 2025. This competition provides law students from across the nation the opportunity to write and argue an appellate brief that addresses evidentiary issues in a contemporary context. This year, Kayla Beckley, Matthew Garrison, and Cree Medley will be arguing three issues – first, the constitutionality of the government’s use of a geofence warrant that did not describe the device or person to be searched; second, the proper interpretation of spousal testimonial privilege where the district court compelled the non-victim spouse to testify; and third, the constitutionality of the district court’s limitation of cross-examination regarding a cooperating witness’s possible sentence. The team has been working very hard to represent the College of Law and are coached by Professor Johanna Christiansen. Best of luck team and coach at next week’s competition!
3/06/25
Good Luck to our Anderson Center ACSC Moot Court Teams who will compete in the Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition held at the Everett M. Dirksen Courthouse in Chicago, IL on March 7 & 8. In keeping with the Anderson Center’s focus on the intersection of effective advocacy and commitment to professionalism, all teams will argue a problem based on real-life ethical issues faced by lawyers. This year’s competitors will argue whether a fee-sharing arrangement between a referring attorney and a trial attorney is invalid as against public policy and whether the costs of third-party generative AI services should be treated as expenses or fees in a contingent fee case. Please join the College in sending best wishes to Yev Kozak, Nicola Marcinkus, Caroline Azem, Akanksha Balekai and Mingyuan Li, and their coach Colleen Ramais (’10)!
3/06/25
Best of luck to our Anderson Center Trial Teams competing this weekend in the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Student Trial Advocacy Competition. The College of Law is sending two teams to this competition, considered one of the most competitive and prestigious competitions in the country. Our team of Bethany Ekwonwa, Sahar Mithani, Jeana Pierson, and Lexi Wilson will represent us in the Chicago region. They are coached by College of Law alum, Matthew Goldman. Our team of Lauren Buck, Michael Larenas-Leach, Masha Polupan, and Eddie Winner is coached by alums Sarah Schryer and Jason St. Aubin and will represent us in the virtual region. The winner of each region nationally will advance to the national finals, held in Atlanta this upcoming April. Our College of Law team last year won our region and we are hoping for a repeat performance this year! Most importantly, all our competing students have diligently prepared for the competition and will represent the College of Law as competent and professional advocates. We thank Spiros Law for their generous sponsorship of our team competing in the Chicago region. Good luck to both teams!
Please join the University of Illinois College of Law in congratulating
the following students who will argue in the
Frederick Green Moot Court Honorary Round
(in alphabetical order)
The Honorary Round will be held Monday, April 14, 2025, in the Max L. Rowe Auditorium at the College of Law.
This year’s distinguished panel of honorary round judges will include
The Honorable Jonathan E. Hawley
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
The Honorable Gretchen S. Lund
United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
and
The Honorable Staci M. Yandle
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
2/26/25
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER
ABA REGIONAL CLIENT COUNSELING TEAM!
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating Caroline Azem, Jessica Bury, Kendall Crispin, Dane Grounds, Sahar Mithani, Lucas Sodaro and their coach, Professor Noonan (’11), for their success during the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition held virtually at Drexel School of Law in Philadelphia, PA. Eighteen teams from various law schools across the country competed in this year’s regional event and our team represented the Anderson Center and our high standards of competing incredibly well!
After initial preliminary rounds, Caroline Azem and Kendall Crispin were seeded third out of eighteen teams and advanced to the semifinal round as one of only two teams that were voted as Best in Room by each judge for both rounds. They continued to excel in the semifinals where judges said Caroline and Kendall showed “incredible empathy,” had a very clear structure and were “already better than most attorneys,” as they punched their ticket to the final round! When the final rounds scores were tabulated, Caroline and Kendal netted Third Place in the competition, and became the tenth U of I team to place in the top three of a regional tournament since 2010. This is a sign of great things to come, as they will be able to continue building skills and compete again in next year’s regional!
Dane Grounds and Sahar Mithani also did exceedingly well in the competition but narrowly missed out on advancing to the semifinal. Professor Noonan would like to add his sincere appreciation for Dane and Sahar -who netted Second Place in last year’s regional – and how “their continuing significant contributions have improved the way our client counseling team operates and the way they have helped set a culture of diligent preparation for competing in advanced levels of competitions.”
Every team member this year was extremely talented and well-rounded. They made time to prepare and compete in this competition while at the same time participating fully in their academic pursuits and in numerous student activities. They have all contributed in many ways to making this an excellent law school and have taken advantage of every opportunity they could manage to enhance their knowledge of the law and their lawyering skills. Knowing what they now know about how to interview and counsel clients will be invaluable to each of them as they graduate from here and begin their life as lawyers, no matter what path their professional careers take.
Lastly, the team would also like to thank Professor Noonan for his hard work and tireless dedication in helping them prepare for the competition.
2/23/25
Good Luck to our Anderson Center Bankruptcy Moot Court Teams who will be traveling to New York City this week to compete in the Duberstein Bankruptcy National Moot Court Competition. This national competition will be taking place Saturday, March 1 through Monday, March 3. The Duberstein Bankruptcy Competition is centered on cutting-edge bankruptcy issues, with extremely talented competition. The two teams, Cedric Birgans, Gloria Grand-Pierre, and Anne Fulgenzi, and Nick Sweeney and Brendan Wengler, will be joined by their coach Matthew Benz (’22). Please join the College in wishing them the best of luck this weekend!
2/10/25
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER
NATIONAL TRIAL COMPETITION TEAM!
Congratulations to Michaela Newton and Vinisha Prajapati who were semifinalists in the midwestern region of this year’s National Trial Competition, held at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Michaela and Vinisha defeated teams from Southern Illinois University and St. Louis University to advance to the Semifinal Round where they were narrowly defeated by the eventual champions, Chicago-Kent. This was Michaela and Vinisha’s fifth time representing the College of Law in national competitions, including being part of the team that won the Hofstra-Medical Trial Competition.
The National Trial Competition, sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers, is one of the most respected mock trial tournaments in the country. Advocates must be prepared to argue both sides of the case with a moment’s notice and then have only 15 minutes before each trial to prepare their witnesses, whom they are meeting for the first time. Michaela and Vinisha represented the College of Law and the Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism superbly, receiving consistent praise from judges and competitors.
They were coached by Professor Sam Jahangir, Visiting Associate Director of the Anderson Center. Michaela and Vinisha also thank Lexi Cline and Sophia Downes who also zealously represented the College of Law in the competition. A final thank you is owed to Benesch Law, who sponsored both teams and whose sponsorship allows us to travel to so many students to so many different competitions. Congratulations to Michaela and Vinisha!
2/4/25
Good luck to our Anderson Center Client Counseling Team who will compete in the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition hosted by Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia, PA, on February 15 and 16. The topic for this year’s competition is Employment Law. Teams kick off the competition by submitting a 3,000-word memo to file based on a videotaped client statement prior to the event, and then compete in up to four rounds of interviewing, counseling, and addressing a client’s legal and non-legal needs. Both of our teams have been working very hard to prepare for this year’s competition. Please wish all the best to Dane Grounds, Sahar Mithani and Jessica Bury, and Caroline Azem, Kendall Crispin and Lucas Sodaro. Our CC teams are coached by Professor James Noonan ’11.
2/4/25
Best of luck to our Anderson Center NAAC Moot Court Team who will be competing February 13-15 in the American Bar Association Law Student Division’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition to be held at the USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The competitors will argue two topical Fourth Amendment issues: whether a dog sniff of a high school student’s body and clothing while in a classroom constitutes a search and, if so, whether said search is reasonable. Please join the College in wishing good luck to Ryan Karp, Elsie Layman, Christopher Mitchell, and Kelly Christensen, Al Hongs, Riley Uremovic, and their coach Professor Jim Fessler!
2/3/25
Best of luck to our Anderson Center Trial Teams competing this weekend in the National Trial Competition, Midwest Region. The College of Law is sending two teams to this competition, considered one of the most competitive and prestigious competitions in the country. Our team of Michaela Newton and Vinisha Prajapati is coached by Visiting Associate Anderson Center Director Sam Jahangir and our team of Lexi Cline and Sophia Downes is coached by Olivia Romano, a proud alum. In this competition, held at Chicago-Kent, the students are prepared to represent both sides of their case and must conduct examinations of witnesses they only have fifteen minutes to prepare. All our competing students have diligently prepared, beginning early in winter break, for the competition and will represent the College of Law as competent and professional advocates. Both teams are very generously sponsored by Benesch Law. Good luck to them!
1/23/25
Good Luck to our Anderson Center NYCB Moot Court Team of Niki Hakimzadeh, Jabari Turner, and Jack Mulligan, who will be competing January 29-31 in the National Round of the New York City’s Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition after winning at Regionals in November. Niki and Jabari will be arguing issues of standing and statutory interpretation of the ADA. Our team is coached by Professor Penny Agallianos. The Competition is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind.
11/25/24
ILLINOIS WINS THIRD REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN A ROW!
Please join the College of Law in heartily congratulating our Winning NYCB Moot Court Team!
The Anderson Center’s NYCB Moot Court Team competed November 23 & 24 at Loyola University Chicago School of Law in Region X of the 75th Annual National Moot Court Competition. The NMCC is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind.
Niki Hakimzadeh & Jabari Turner and Ryan Karp & Muriel Leung argued issues of standing and statutory interpretation of the ADA. Along with fellow team members Jack Mulligan and Cree Medley, both subteams spent months preparing for the competition by writing a brief and also practicing their arguments before district judges, professors, former winning NYCB team members, and current moot court board members.
Niki Hakimzadeh and Jabari Turner put in stellar performances, sweeping the entire competition by winning all ballots throughout the preliminary, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds! They continued to perform exceedingly well in the finals on Sunday, impressing the judges and blowing away the competition. Judges simply ran out of superlatives for the powerhouse team – raving about the pair’s performance, stating that Niki had “fantastic presentation, a great demeanor” and made “brilliant” points in her arguments. They also stated she was “outstanding” and “phenomenal,” praising her focus and how thoroughly she understood her points. One judge stated they found Niki “so engaging [that they] didn’t want to interrupt!” In addition to naming Jabari Best Oral Advocate for the competition, the judges continued piling on the praise, calling his performance “exceptional,” his rebuttal “superb,” and remarking that Jabari created a “sense of authority in the room.” One judge went so far as to say that in almost 40 years of judging moot court competitions, “I’ve never seen anybody better!”
Ryan Karp & Muriel Leung also performed well in the competition, and judges commended Muriel’s responses to tough questions and also Ryan on the way he handled a trifecta of questions thrown his way – continually commending both on doing an excellent job “wiggling their way back” into their arguments against a strong Chicago Kent team, who were eventual semifinalists.
With the Region X win, Niki, Jabari, and Jack will move on to compete against other regional winners in the National Finals held in New York, NY on January 29 – 31, 2025.
Our Anderson Center’s NYCB Moot Court Team is coached by Professor Penny Agallianos, who continues to do a fantastic job preparing our teams each year for this competition! This is the third year in a row the team has won the Regional competition and advanced to the Nationals in New York!
We would also like to extend a very special thank-you to the following people who helped prepare the teams for success by sharing their time and invaluable expertise in judging their practices: Judges Peter Henderson and Brett Olmstead, Professors Sean Anderson, Tony Ghiotto, Sam Jahangir, Eric Johnson, Janice Pea, and Kari Sanderson, attorneys Kevin Cassato, Robert Delaney, Emma Overton, Gage Salicki (all four from prior winning NYCB teams), and moot court board members Yev Kozak and Brendan Wengler.
11/22/24
Anderson Center Spring 2025 Moot Court Board!
Please join the Kimball R. and Karen Gatsis Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism in extending heartfelt congratulations to the students selected to represent the University of Illinois College of Law as members of the Moot Court Board for Spring 2025. Our Moot Court Board will represent the College of Law at moot court competitions throughout the country next semester. New members were selected based on their dedicated excellence and professionalism in the fall Anderson Center Intraschool Moot Court Competition. Sixty-four students competed in the fall competition, which involved drafting a brief and presenting oral arguments before state and federal judges, along with faculty members and current Moot Court members. The competition was incredibly close, and all the students demonstrated stellar advocacy both in their briefs and oral arguments. The twelve students selected to join Moot Court Board in the spring will join our returning thirteen students who proudly represented the College of Law in fall competitions where they continuously excelled.
New Moot Court Board Members
Returning Board Members
11/20/24
Good Luck to our Anderson Center NYCB Moot Court Team who will be competing in the Regional of the New York City Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition hosted by Loyola University Chicago School of Law November 22-24. Ryan Karp, Muriel Leung, Cree Medley, Niki Hakimzadeh, Jack Mulligan, and Jabari Turner will be arguing issues of standing and statutory interpretation of the ADA. Our team is coached by Professor Penny Agallianos. The Competition is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind.
11/11/24
Please join us in congratulating the following competitors who excelled in this year’s Anderson Center Intraschool Moot Court Competition!
This year’s problem was set in the Supreme Court. Teams sought to clarify the level of discretion given to school administration in deciding what goes on in the classroom and the extent to which students and their families retain First Amendment rights in public schools, if any at all. Sixty-four upper-level students competed in this year’s moot court competition. Competitors attended lectures on Oral Arguments, Brief Writing, Plagiarism/Artificial Intelligence, Performance, and Student Perspective. In addition they wrote briefs and held practices with various Moot Court Board Members to prepare.
WINNING TEAM
BEST ORAL ADVOCATE
BEST PETITIONER BRIEF
BEST RESPONDENT BRIEF
11/11/24
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER TRIAL TEAMS!
Ashley Bussell, Gabe Checri, Lexi Cline, and Sophia Downes represented the College in the Hofstra Medical Competition. An invite only competition, the team finished as quarterfinalists, being teams from South Carolina, South Texas, and Pace. Their only loss was to the eventual tournament champion, Chicago-Kent, in a very close and hard-fought round. Lexi Cline received individual recognition as an Outstanding Advocate, with the entire team receiving praise throughout. They were proudly coached by alum Olivia Romano.
Andrew Gray, Ben Lee, Michaela Newton, and Vinisha Prajapati represented the College of Law at the Case Classic Competition, hosted by Case Western School of Law in Cleveland. The team received honorable mention, defeating teams from Ohio Northern and Alabama. Their only loss came against Harvard, the competition champion. Each advocate shined in a complicated criminal case and received praise for their professionalism and tough advocacy. They were coached by alums Josh Lawson and Dan Lewis.
Ellie Jones, Joe Lehman, Sahar Mithani, and Alexandria Wilson represented the College of Law at the Chicago Cup Competition, held at the Daley Center with many of Chicago’s most prominent lawyers and judges judging. The team defeated teams from Northwestern and Loyola during the competition. Judges raved about the team’s professionalism, determination, and mastery of the Rules of Evidence, all hallmarks of the College of Law trial advocacy experience. They were coached by Professor Tony Ghiotto and Sam Jahangir, the Visiting Associate Director of the Anderson Center, who both couldn’t be prouder of their advocacy and professionalism.
11/5/24
Ashley Bussell, Gabe Checri, Lexi Cline, and Sophia Downes will represent the College of Law at the Hofstra-Medical Trial Competition held in New York. This competition focuses on the use of medical experts at trial. Each team is paired with a Hofstra Medical School student who serves as their expert witness throughout the competition. Our team won the competition last year and we are looking forward to defending our crown. The team is coached by College of Law alum, Olivia Romano.
11/5/24
Andrew Gray, Ben Lee, Michaela Newton, and Vinisha Prajapati are traveling to Cleveland to represent the College of Law in the Case Classic Trial Competiton, hosted by Case Western School of Law. The Case Classic focuses on criminal issues, with trials being held in the Cuyahoga County Courthouse. Our team last year advanced to the championship round and our team is excited for the opportunity to compete once again. They are coached by College of Law alums Josh Lawson and Dan Lewis.
11/5/24
Joe Lehman, Ellie Jones, Sahar Mithani, and Alexandria Wilson will represent the College of Law at the Chicago Cup Trial Competition, held at the Daley Center in Chicago. The College of Law co-sponsors this competition, along with Northwestern, Loyola, Chicago-Kent, and UIC. This year’s problem is a unique criminal problem, based on the 1982 Chicagoland Tylenol murders. They are coached by Professor Tony Ghiotto and Sam Jahangir, the Visiting Associate Director of the Anderson Center.
11/4/24
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER
PREMIERE TRIAL ADVOCACY COMPETITION TEAM!
Congratulations to Lauren Buck, Michael Larenas-Leach, Masha Polupan, and Eduard Winner who finished in third place at the Premiere Trial Advocacy Competition, hosted by UCLA School of Law and the University of Texas School of Law. Special congratulations to Masha who was recognized as one of the competition’s “Top Ten” advocates.
The Premiere Trial Advocacy Competition is one of the most prestigious national trial advocacy competitions, that only invites the top advocacy schools to compete. It features students who have never competed in a law school trial competition previously and is considered incredibly competitive. All four of our advocates displayed professionalism and a high level of advocacy that received praise from judges, competitors, and faculty members throughout the competition. Finishing in third place out of eighteen of the finest trial advocacy schools is a huge accomplishment. It’s consistent with the standard of excellence set by the Anderson Center, as evidenced by being ranked as the 9th best trial team program by Fordham School of Law and 11th best nationally by the Gavel Rankings.
The team thanks their coaches, Sarah Schryer and Jason St. Aubin, both College of Law alums, for all their assistance. They also thank all their fellow trial team members and faculty members who helped them prepare for the competition.
10/30/24
Best of luck to our Anderson Center ALA Moot Court Team competing this weekend in the Hudson Memorial Moot Court Competition, hosted by the Appellate Lawyers Association. Our team of Nick Sweeney and Brendan Wengler will be competing in Chicago against many of the top law schools in the nation. Their case involves complicated immigration actions taken by the government. Nick and Brendan wrote a superb brief and are excited to argue before many leading appellate attorneys and judges. They are coached by Professor Johanna Christiansen. Wish them well!
10/30/24
Our Anderson Center Premiere Trial Team of Lauren Buck, Michael Larenas-Leach, Masha Polupan, and Eduard Winner are travelling this weekend to compete in the Premiere Trial Competition, co-hosted by UCLA School of Law and the University of Texas School of Law. The Premiere Trial Competition is an invite only competition limited to the top advocacy schools. The competition uses a novel and complex negligence issue. Our team has spent countless hours practicing and are ready to zealously and professionally advocate. They are coached by College of Law alumni Sarah Schryer and Jason St. Aubin. Good luck team!
10/28/24
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER
JAG MOOT COURT TEAM!
Luke Hemmerla and Christopher Mitchell competed in the Brigadier General Alley JAG Moot Court Competition from October 23 – 27 at Fort Belvoir in Washington, DC. Professor Jim Fessler, who served as coach for the team, stated it was “an honor and privilege to coach these outstanding young men who are great ambassadors of the University and the College of Law.” Professor Fessler and the team would also like to thank everyone who served as practice judges to help prepare the team. In addition to the competition, they were also able to visit the Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guard, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington House, and JFK’s grave.
10/28/24
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER
ABA REGIONAL NEGOTIATION TEAM!
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating Sahar Mithani, Dane Grounds, Julio Lara, Kelly Christensen and their coach, Professor Green, for their success during this past weekend’s ABA Regional Negotiation Competition held virtually by SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. Sixteen teams from various law schools across the country were scheduled to compete in this year’s regional event.
The ABA Negotiation Competition has one of the steepest cuts in all of competition – where only four teams move on from the preliminary rounds to the finals. All of our team members did an outstanding job negotiating on behalf of their clients in both rounds and received high praise from many of their judges. When it was time to announce the finalists and cut all the teams but four, Sahar and Dane had won the majority of ballots in both of their rounds to launch them into the finals on Saturday in third place!
Julio and Kelly also did exceedingly well, winning the majority of ballots in one round and splitting the judge panel votes in the second round, but unfortunately lost out on becoming one of the finalist four teams due to a differential tiebreaker that just edged them into fifth place overall. Sahar and Dane continued to finals on Saturday, eventually losing on a nail-biting split judge vote that didn’t break their way. We would also like to note that this is the second time this year that Sahar and Dane have reached the finals in two separate ADR competitions (client counseling and negotiation) and we would like to recognize them for their continued hard work and accomplishments.
10/25/24
Please join us in congratulating the following teams who advanced to the Championship Round of the Anderson Center’s intraschool ABA Client Counseling Competition!
Winners of the Fall 2024 Anderson Center ABA Client Counseling Competition are:
Lucas Sodaro & Jessica Bury
The judges’ comments reflected that the winning team “demonstrated a great combination of logic and empathy,”
while also “giving the client candid, necessary advice without being so critical that it would foreclose the attorney/client relationship.”
Jessica and Lucas put on a “dynamic performance, full of memorable comments and insightful analysis of the numerous issues the client faced.”
Jessica and Lucas will join our Client Counseling Board and be part of our
Regional Client Counseling Team.
The Second Place Team is:
Taaseen Khan & Akshat Donti
As we have come to expect with Illinois Championship Rounds, the decisions necessary to rank teams and
choose one winner are not easy ones – the most senior judge of our well-seasoned panel commented that this was
“the best year of competition [he] has ever seen” and the judges ALL agreed that each and every team provided great
advice, performed exceedingly well and deserves to be recognized for advancing to the finals.
Please be sure to congratulate all of these students on their fine achievement.
Again, a hearty congratulations to our finalists and thank you to everyone for an incredible competition!
10/25/24
Please join us in congratulating the following teams who advanced to the Championship Round of the Anderson Center’s intraschool LLM Client Counseling Competition!
Winners of the Fall 2024 Anderson Center LLM Client Counseling Competition are:
Linn Karlsson & Anya Aranha
The judge panel chose Linn Karlsson and Anya Aranha as the winning team and stated they “really delved into the client’s options and explained
the pros and cons of those options. They also were able to analyze the issues, made no guarantees, yet provided support to the client.”
In addition they felt the team “worked well together to establish rapport and understand the client’s perspective and concerns.
Alternative outcomes and options were explored including moral and ethical issues.” Linn and Anya asked “open-ended questions to assist in
information gathering and understood the client’s goals and the scope of the charges and possible legal consequences.”
Our finalist judges provided excellent feedback to all finalist teams and would like to commend them both on their performances.
All participants in this year’s LLM Competition performed extremely well and deserve recognition for their efforts.
Please be sure to commend these students on their fine achievement!
Congratulations to all of our finalists and thank you to everyone for an incredible competition!
10/24/24
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANDERSON CENTER
EMORY NATIONAL MOOT COURT TEAM!
The Anderson Center’s Emory National Moot Court Team competed October 25 & 26 in Atlanta, GA in the Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition. Emory’s Civil Rights’ competition embodies an important commitment to academic excellence and social justice and aims to inspire competitors to reflect upon the role that civil rights and civil liberties serve in our society as well as how they can use their positions as advocates to further champion all civil rights and liberties.
Sarah Shamsi and Gloria Grandpierre, along with Nicole Marcinkus and Yev Kozak, made the University of Illinois College of Law proud, with strong performances on the following, very thorny legal questions: 1) Whether there is a substantive due process right to companionship with a person’s adult child and 2) if so, whether a municipality can be held liable for arguably violating that right that was, as of yet, not clearly established? Questioning required the teams to draw on many areas of substantive due process law as well as qualified immunity principles.
Judges congratulated Sarah and Gloria on their poise and commitment to a difficult position to argue and Yev and Nicole on their unflappable demeanors and responsiveness to questioning.
Nicole and Yev advanced to Octofinals (top 16 of 36 teams total), where they narrowly missed advancing to Quarterfinals. In addition, Nicole was recognized as the 5th Best Oralist in the whole competition!
This is the second time the College has competed in the Emory Civil Rights and Liberties competition and the team has advanced each year and won awards. We are extremely proud of our team’s hard work preparing for the competition and for their performance throughout the event. They consistently represented the College of Law and the Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism as professional and competent advocates.The team would like to thank their coach, Professor Ramais (’10), for her time, dedication, and support! They would also like to thank the following judges, attorneys, and fellow moot court board members who took time out of their busy schedules to help with their many practices: Judge Peter Henderson (’12) . Tom Drysdale (Fed Pub Defender’s Ofc) . David Krchak (’80) (Thomas Mamer) . Professor Anderson . Professor Ghiotto . Professor Jahangir . Professor Keenan . Professor Sanderson . MC Board Ryan Karp (’25) . MC Board Cree Medley (’25).
10/23/24
Good luck to our Anderson Center ABA Negotiation Team! Dane Grounds, Sahar Mithani, Julio Lara, and Kelly Christensen will be competing virtually at SMU Dedman School of Law October 25 & 26 in the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition. They will compete alongside eighteen other teams from seven universities for a share of the regional title and the chance to move on to Nationals next spring. The topics for this year’s competition are AI Plagiarism, Teacher Tenure, and Student Protests. The teams have been working very hard to prepare for this year’s regional event. Please join us in wishing the team and their coach, Professor Green, good luck this weekend!
10/23/24
Best of luck to our Anderson Center Moot Court Team competing this weekend at the Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition, hosted by the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Our team of Christopher Mitchell and Luke Hemmerla will travel to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to represent the College of Law in this competition. Since August, they have been working diligently on writing an extensive brief exploring the lawful consent to search a phone and also applying the Military Rules of Evidence in addressing whether a prior consistent statement is admissible hearsay. They will present oral arguments beginning Thursday and continuing to the weekend. Professor Jim Fessler coached the team and we wish them well!
10/15/24
Best of luck to our two Anderson Center Moot Court teams competing this weekend in the Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition. Two teams will be representing the College of Law in this prestigious, national moot court competition. Sarah Shamsi and Gloria Grandpierre are teaming together while Yev Kozak and Nicole Marcinkus are teammates. The Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition is held in Atlanta, Georgia, and specializes in issues that involve potential civil rights violations. This year’s problem involves whether there is a fundamental right to companionship between a parent and adult child, while also considering the extent of qualified immunity. Our students have drafted briefs, practiced diligently, and are prepared to argue both as appellants and appellees. They are coached by College of Law alum, Colleen Ramais. Go team!
10/01/24
Best of luck to our Anderson Center Trial Team competing this weekend in the Summit Cup Trial Competition, hosted by the University of Denver College of Law. The Summit Cup is one of the nation’s most prestigious law school trial competitions, with only 12 schools invited based on their performances the prior academic year. Our invitation to compete is consistent with the College of Law’s recent ranking by Fordham Law School as the 9th best performing trial team in the nation. Bethany Ekwonwa, Andrew Gray, Ben Lee, and Jeana Pierson will proudly represent the College of Law at the competition. They are coached by College of Law alums Dan Lewis and Josh Lawson.
9/10/24
Best of luck to Anderson Center Trial Team members Michaela Newton and Vinisha Prajapati who are competing this weekend at the First Chair Trial Competition hosted by the University of San Diego School of Law. The First Chair Trial Competition is an invite only competition where each student must be prepared to litigate an entire case without a co-counsel, conducting all parts of a trial. Michaela and Vinisha were invited to compete because they won Hofstra-Medical Trial Competition last fall. They are coached by Sam Jahangir, the Visiting Associate Director of the Anderson Center. Best of luck to Michaela and Vinisha as they travel to San Diego!
9/5/24
Anderson Center Client Counseling Competition Info/Demo Session: An information meeting for all law students will be held on Wednesday, September 11, in Room D at Noon. This competition provides a great opportunity for you to develop important experiential skills for the practice of law and to boost your resume. We will have a condensed, live demonstration put on by our CC Board to demonstrate what to expect when competing. Professor James Noonan (’11), prior ABA National Winner, World Bronze Medalist, and World Winning Coach, will act as judge and then follow up with feedback and tips on how you can be successful in the competition. (Please note no video/audio recording allowed.) This session will only be offered once, so do not miss out! Lunch provided to attendees.
8/29/24
MOOT COURT BOARD SELECTION PROCESS
A mandatory information session will be held Tuesday, September 3, from 12-1pm in the Auditorium for all second- and third-year students interested in competing nationally and joining the Moot Court Board. This session will be recorded, but viewing is required in order to participate in the competition. Professor Ghiotto will go over the requirements of the Intraschool Competition, important dates, and provide general information on what being part of the Moot Court Board entails. Free lunch provided for attendees.
Announcements 2023-2024
4/23/24
Congratulations to our Anderson Center Estrella Trial Advocacy Competition Team!
Congratulations to Madelyn Foster, Allison Heil, Eliza Powers, and Mariana Renke who finished as semifinalists at the Estrella Trial Advocacy Competition, hosted by George Washington University School of Law in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Estrella Trial Advocacy Competition is one of the premier national trial advocacy competitions, that only accepts 12 schools per year. Our team defeated teams from University of Virginia and William & Mary before they made the “final four” against a very difficult team from George Washington University (the host school). All four of our advocates displayed professionalism and a high level of advocacy that received praise from judges, competitors, and faculty members throughout the competition.
Of special note, our team of Madelyn, Allison, Eliza, and Mariana have displayed excellence throughout their time as Anderson Center Trial Team members. Together, they won the National Ethics Trial Competition in Spring 2023 and in fall of 2024, they were semifinalists (final four) at the Summit Cup Trial Competition. The Summit Cup Competition is an invite only competition where teams are only invited if they won a national championship the year prior. It’s also considered one of the most challenging competitions by the Gavel Rankings, which ranked the University of Illinois College of Law as the 5th Best Trial Advocacy program in the nation for fall 2023.
The team thanks their coach, Professor Stacey Shobe, for all her assistance. They also thank Joaquin Cabana, Dan Lewis, and Josh Lawson for all their help.
4/11/24
Good Luck to our Anderson Center Estrella Trial Advocacy Team, who will be competing April 13-14 at the 10th Annual Estrella Trial Advocacy Competition in San Juan, Puerto Rico alongside 13 other law schools. The competition is co-hosted by the law firm of Estrella, LLC and George Washington University Law School. Please join the College in wishing good luck to team members Madelyn Foster, Allison Heil, Eliza Powers, Mariana Renke, and their coach Stacey Shobe!
4/9/24
Congratulations to our 2024-2025 Trial Teams
Please join the Kimball R. and Karen Gatsis Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism in extending heartfelt congratulations to the new students selected to represent the University of Illinois College of Law on trial team for academic year 2024-2025. Selection for Trial Team was incredibly competitive, with over sixty students competing for limited spots. The level of advocacy for all the students was incredibly high and we are confident that these talented students will proudly represent the College of Law as competent and professional advocates.
Throughout this current academic year, we were proud of Trial Team’s successes, which included finishing as semifinalists at the Summit Cup Competition, finalists at the Case Western Classic, champions at the Hofstra Medical-Legal Trial Competition, finalists at the National Trial Competition Regionals, and champions at the American Association of Justice Regionals.
We are also proud of the recognition trial team received this year as well, with an “A” recognition in Prelaw Magazine for the second consecutive year, a Gavel Ranking of 5th place overall nationally, and a US News Trial Advocacy Ranking of 48th nationally, a 91-spot improvement from last year. We are confident our new team members will continue this legacy of professional advocacy.
Our new Trial Teams students will join our Advanced Trial Team students who were invited to return to trial team based upon their dedicated excellence and professionalism on trial team this past academic year.
Harley Cavallo
Darineice Davis
Bethany Ekwonwa
Andrew Gray
Niki Hakimzadeh
Vindy Murthy
Michaela Newton
Jeana Pierson
Vinisha Prajapati
Jordan Stewart
4/4/24
Good Luck to our Anderson Center STAC Trial Advocacy Team who will be heading to Chicago this week to compete in the STAC National round after advancing in the Regionals tournament. This national competition, hosted by the American Association for Justice, will be taking place Thursday, April 4th through Sunday, April 7th at the Daley Center. This year’s case is a wrongful death civil action about a man who drove over a live active electric wire in the middle of the road during a snowstorm. His car burst into flames and his spouse watched as he died. His spouse is suing the utility company for negligence. The defendant utility company claims the man’s death was caused by the police department’s failure to properly secure the scene of the live wire. The team, Andrew Gray, Akshay Krishnamani, Trisha Makley, & Maryam Muhammad, will be joined by their coaches Josh Lawson ’19 and Dan Lewis ‘19. Please join the College in wishing good luck and safe travels to the STAC team and their coaches!
4/3/24
Please join Professor Sanderson and the College of Law in congratulating
Ryan Karp
for being named Best Oral Advocate
in this year’s Frederick Green Moot Court Honorary Round!
Please also congratulate all of our talented finalists who did an outstanding job in yesterday’s arguments:
A very special thank you to our distinguished guest panel of judges:
The Honorable Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The Honorable Manish S. Shah
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The Honorable Young B. Kim
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
3/20/24
Please join us in wishing Good Luck to our Anderson Center South Texas Mock Trial Challenge Team who are currently in Houston to compete in the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge. The 13th annual competition will take place March 22-24. In an exciting twist, this year’s case problem requires teams to litigate the damages phase of a bifurcated wrongful death case. The jury has already determined liability after the tragic death of a 19-year-old. Teams must grapple with monetary rewards for mental anguish, physical pain, medical expenses, and loss of companionship. Only four of eight witnesses will testify, but which ones is a strategy decision left to the discretion of each team. The team, Harley Cavallo, Annie Cebulski, Darineice Davis, & Vindy Murthy, will be joined by coaches Stacey Shobe and Kheana Pollard ’19. Good luck and safe travels!
3/20/24
Good Luck to our Anderson Center National Ethics Trial Competition Team who will be competing March 22-24 in the NETC hosted by the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. This competition focuses on attorney ethics and professional responsibility. The case involves a former client suing a criminal defense attorney, alleging that the attorney failed to adequately protect attorney-client privilege and improperly used artificial intelligence to help draft a cross-examination. Best of luck and safe travels to Bethany Ekwonwa, Michaela Newton, Jeana Pierson, & Vinisha Prajapati, and their coach Matthew Goldman ’17.
3/20/24
Good Luck to our Anderson Center’s Marshall Moot Court Team (proudly sponsored by Wilson Elser) who will be competing in the FBA Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition hosted March 20-21 in Washington, D.C. Cree Medley & Joe Self and Erica Prosser & Christopher Mitchell will be arguing whether a police officer’s traffic stop violated an individual’s 4th Amendment rights when the stop was repeatedly prolonged, as well as whether the officer violated these same rights when an ALPR (automated license plate reader) query was conducted. Best of luck to our team and their coach, Professor Jim Fessler!
3/18/24
Good Job Anderson Center UCLA Moot Court Team
This past weekend our Anderson Center UCLA Moot Court Team, comprised of Luke Hemmerla, Kavi Modi, Sarah Shamsi, Muriel Leung, Nicholas Sweeney, and Brendan Wengler, competed in the UCLA-Williams Institute National Moot Court Competition hosted by UCLA Law School in Los Angeles. Their coach, Judge Peter Henderson, reports the team did a terrific job tackling a complex, cutting-edge question involving Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. Their arguments were professional and reflected their hard work at achieving a command on the law. The competition had a sharp preliminary cut, advancing only eight teams out of thirty to the next round of competition, and although our teams did not advance, they represented the College of Law very well and earned the respect of the judges before whom they appeared. They should be proud of their efforts and their fine advocacy.
3/14/24
Good Luck to our Anderson Center UCLA Moot Court Team
The Anderson Center’s UCLA Moot Court Team will compete in the UCLA-Williams Institute National Moot Court Competition hosted by UCLA Law School in Los Angeles, on March 16. Please join us in wishing good luck to Luke Hemmerla, Kavi Modi, Sarah Shamsi, Muriel Leung, Nicholas Sweeney, Brendan Wengler, and their coach Judge Henderson!
3/11/24
Congratulations to our Anderson Center
American Association of Justice Trial Team!
Congratulations to Andrew Gray, Akshay Krishnamani, Trisha Makley, and Maryam Muhammad who won the Midwest Region of the American Association of Justice (AAJ) Student Trial Advocacy Competition this past weekend. The AAJ Trial Competition is one of the largest and most prestigious competitions nationally, with over 100 schools competing. The Midwest Region is especially competitive. Our team went 5-0, defeating many of the best advocacy programs in the area. They will now advance to the National component to battle the nation’s top advocacy schools the first week of April.
We congratulate them and wish them luck as they prepare to represent the Anderson Center and the College of Law as competent and ethical advocates once again at nationals. Special thanks as well to their coaches, Josh Lawson and Dan Lewis, both alums of the trial advocacy program.
The team especially thanks Niki Hakimzadeh, Seon ki Jo, Natasha Spann, and Jordan Stewart, who also superbly represented the College of Law in the competition, as well as the volunteer attorneys, judges, and faculty members who helped them prepare their case.
3/10/24
Congratulations to our Anderson Center
Seventh Circuit Moot Court Team!
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating Serena Cheng, Matthew Woodruff, and Ekrem Genc for their excellent performance in the Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition held this past weekend at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. Consistent with the Anderson Center’s mission of promoting law school training in advocacy and professionalism, the problem for this year’s competition was based on real-life conflict of interests issues arising in federal courts.
The team won 2nd Best Appellee Brief to start off the competition. From there, Serena and Matt earned top marks from their judge panels to move them on to Semifinals on Saturday, where Matt was also awarded Best Oral Advocate in the competition! Although they were just edged out of the Finals by the eventual winning team of the competition, our team performed admirably and with great skill, earning much praise from the judges along the way!
Our Anderson Center Moot Court Team is coached by Professor Colleen Ramais, who did a wonderful job preparing them for this year’s competition. Special thanks to all of our law school professors and local practitioners and judges who also helped prepare the team for success. We simply would not be able to provide important experiential opportunities such as these for our students without your kind generosity of time and expertise that you so willingly provide each year and we are grateful for your continued support of our students.
3/1/24
Please join us in congratulating the following teams who advanced to the Championship Round of the Anderson Center’s intraschool ABA Client Counseling Competition!
Winners of the 2024 Anderson Center ABA Client Counseling Competition are:
Caroline Azem & Kendall Crispin
Judges commented that Caroline and Kendall “were naturals when it came to building rapport
with the client and were top-notch when it came to issue-spotting, empathy, and problem analysis.”
Caroline and Kendall will join our Client Counseling Board and be part of next year’s
2025 Regional Client Counseling Competing team.
The Second Place Team is:
Genaro Mauricio & Sebastian Rivera
The judges also wish to recognize
Caroline Azem
for
Best Individual Attorney Performance
As we have come to expect with Illinois Championship Rounds, the decisions necessary to rank teams
and choose one winner are not easy ones – each team did a great job and deserves to be
recognized for advancing through two rounds of competition to reach the finals.
Please be sure to congratulate all of these students on their fine achievement.
Again, a hearty congratulations to our finalists and thank you to everyone for an incredible competition!
3/1/24
Please join us in congratulating the following teams who advanced to the Championship Round of the Anderson Center’s intraschool LLM Client Counseling Competition!
The winners of the 2024 Anderson Center LLM Client Counseling Competition are:
Quadir Oyeleke & Samson Obaro
The judge panel chose Quadir and Samson as the winning team and stated that they “asked very good,
probing questions in order to get the facts and to obtain the client’s goals.”
Our finalist judges provided excellent feedback to both teams, stating they felt each team produced creative solutions, both legal and nonlegal, to help the client, and empathized with the client’s difficult situation. They would like to commend them both on their performances.
All participants in this year’s LLM Competition performed extremely well and deserve recognition for their efforts.
Please be sure to commend these students on their fine achievement!
Congratulations to all of our finalists and thank you to everyone for an incredible competition!
2/13/24
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating our ABA Regional Client Counseling Team
sponsored by Dean Jennifer Gerarda Brown ’85
This past weekend the Anderson Center Client Counseling team (sponsored by Dean Jennifer Gerarda Brown of Quinnipiac University School of Law) competed in the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition hosted by Campbell Law School. Preliminary rounds consisted of two client interviews and a 3,000-word written memo submitted earlier in the semester. Anthony Gavrilchenko & Audrey Pauls, Rachel Aranyi & Nicholas Holy, and Dane Grounds & Sahar Mithani, represented the Anderson Center and our high standards of competing incredibly well. We can all be proud of the excellent showing of our team this year.
After the preliminary round scores were finalized, Dane Grounds and Sahar Mithani advanced to the Semifinal Round of competition on Saturday where they continued to excel and earn their way into the Championship Round later that afternoon against a team from Campbell and a team from North Carolina Central School of Law! After the final scores came in, Dane and Sahar were named Regional Runners Up, netting 2nd place in the competition, and they became the ninth U of I team to place in the top three of a regional tournament since 2010. This is a sign of great things to come, as they will be able to compete in the Regional again next year!
Every one of this year’s team members are extremely talented and well-rounded. They made time to prepare and compete in this competition while at the same time participating fully in their academic pursuits and in numerous student activities. They have all contributed in many ways to making this an excellent law school and have taken advantage of every opportunity they could manage to enhance their knowledge of the law and their lawyering skills. Knowing what they now know about how to interview and counsel clients will be invaluable to each of them as they graduate from here and begin their life as lawyers, no matter what path their professional careers take.
This year’s Client Counseling Regional Team would also like to add a special thank you
to Professor Noonan for all of his hard work and dedication to the team.
2/12/2024
Congratulations to our Anderson Center National Trial Competition Team!
Congratulations to Nina Grover and Lili Klainer who were finalists this past weekend in the Regional National Trial Competition, held at St. Louis University School of Law. Nina and Lili defeated teams from DePaul, Chicago-Kent, Loyola, and Northwestern to advance to the final round where they were narrowly defeated. This was the first time the University of Illinois College of Law has ever finished as finalists in the National Trial Competition.
The National Trial Competition, sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers, is one of the most respected mock trial tournaments in the country. Advocates must be prepared to argue both sides of the case with a moment’s notice and then have only 15 minutes before each trial to prepare their witnesses, whom they are meeting for the first time. Nina and Lili represented the College of Law and the Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism superbly, receiving consistent praise from judges and competitors.
They were coached by Olivia Romano ’20, who also coached Lili and Nina to their championship this past fall at the Hofstra-Medical Trial Competition. Congratulations to Nina, Lili, and Olivia!
2/8/2024
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating Fizza Alam and Chris Truong!
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating Fizza Alam and Chris Truong who competed successfully in the American Bar Association’s First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition held January 10, 11, 17, and February 1. This year’s competitors addressed the timely issue of whether, under the First Amendment, a school district could constitutionally remove a politician’s biography from libraries based off its mention of sex and sexual orientation.
Both Fizza and Chris competed through initial virtual rounds on zoom, making it to the Semifinal round of competition. From there, Fizza was one of only four individual competitors (alongside students from Yale, Harvard, and RWU Law) to advance to Finals in Santa Barbara, CA, based on the highest combination of scores from the brief and preliminary and semifinal oral argument rounds – without regard to team assignment.
The judges for the final round were Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes (USDC Northern District of Illinois), and Judge Jonathan L. Rosenbloom (Los Angeles County Superior Court).
All of the judges were very impressed with the finalists and stated they were more prepared than many attorneys who argued before them in their own courtrooms every day. Judge Fuentes (IL ND) singled Fizza out, impressed with her responses to questions presented. We are very proud of Fizza and Chris’s showing as a National Semifinalist team and Fizza’s impressive performance as a National Finalist in the competition. Congratulations!
2/7/2024
Please join the Anderson Center in heartily congratulating our NYCB Moot Court Team!
The Anderson Center’s NYCB Moot Court Team competed January 29, 30 & 31 at the New York City Bar Association’s 74th Annual National Moot Court Competition. The NMCC is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind. This year’s competition season began with 132 teams from over 105 law schools across the country where Emma Overton and Gage Salicki first punched a ticket on their journey to the National by winning Region VIII at Marquette University Law School last November.
This past week, Emma and Gage competed alongside twenty-four teams from across the country – the best from each region – over the course of three days in the heart of Manhattan. The team started out the competition on Monday, arguing successfully through two preliminary rounds and advancing to Octofinals and Quarterfinals on Tuesday, including netting the 2nd Best Brief in the competition. From there they continued their powerhouse performances to earn a bid in the top 4 Semifinal round on Wednesday. The judges were impressed with all of the teams, and final scoring was so close that Emma and Gage missed out on advancing to the Final round by less than a point.
We are proud of the hard work Emma and Gage (and their coach Professor Penny Agallianos) have put into preparing for this year’s events – earning the team a regional championship, 3rd best regional brief, best regional advocate award (Overton), 2nd best national brief, and recognition as a top 4 national semifinalist team.
We would also like to extend a very special thank-you to all of the professors and guest judges who helped by sharing their time and invaluable expertise in judging the team’s practices.
2/5/2024
Good Luck to our Anderson Center National Trial Competition Teams who will be competing February 8-10, in the National Trial Competition Regional Tournament, hosted by Saint Louis University School of Law. The NTC is the premier law school mock trial competition with over one hundred law schools competing in regionals across the country. Our team of Nina Grover and Lili Klainer is coached by Olivia Romano ’20 and our team of Joaquin Cabana, Bethany Dain, and Isaiah Eaton is coached by Professor Tony Ghiotto. Good luck to both teams!
2/5/2024
Good Luck to our Anderson Center Client Counseling Team who will be traveling this week to compete in the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition hosted by Campbell Law School on February 9 and 10. The topic for this year’s competition is Education Law. Teams kick off the competition by submitting a 3,000 word memo to file based on a videotaped client statement prior to the event, and then compete in up to four rounds of interviewing, counseling, and addressing a client’s legal and non-legal needs. All of our teams have been working very hard to prepare for this year’s competition. Please join the College in wishing good luck to Anthony Gavrilchenko & Audrey Pauls, Rachel Aranyi & Nicholas Holy, and Dane Grounds & Sahar Mithani. Our CC teams are coached by Professor James Noonan ‘11.
1/29/2024
1/25/2024
Good Luck to our Anderson Center NYCB Moot Court Team who will be competing January 29-31 in the National Round of the New York City’s Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition after winning at Regionals in November. Emma Overton and Gage Salicki will be arguing issues of personal jurisdiction and whether a social media post promoting a security makes the promoter a seller under securities law. Our team is coached by Professor Penny Agallianos. The Competition is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind.
1/16/2024
Please join the University of Illinois College of Law in congratulating
the following students who will argue in the
Frederick Green Moot Court Honorary Round
(in alphabetical order)
The Honorary Round will be held Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in the Max L. Rowe Auditorium at the College of Law.
This year’s distinguished panel of honorary round judges will include
The Honorable Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The Honorable Manish S. Shah
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
and
The Honorable Young B. Kim
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
12/12/2023
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating the following students who have advanced to memberships on our Regional and National Moot Court Teams. These students will represent the College in moot court competitions across the country this spring.
(in no particular order)
Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition
The Anderson Center Regional Team will compete March 8–9 in Chicago, IL
and be supported by Professor Colleen Ramais.
NYCB / National Moot Court Competition
The NYCB National Team won the NYCB Region VIII Competition in November and are advancing to
compete January 29–31 in New York, NY. They will continue to be supported by Professor Penny Agallianos.
FBA / Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition
The Marshall National Team will compete March 20–21 in Washington, D.C.
and be supported by Professor Jim Fessler.
ABA / National Appellate Advocacy Competition
The NAAC National Team will compete February 22–24 in Brooklyn, NY
and be supported by Samuel Zuidema of Winston & Strawn.
Duberstein Bankruptcy National Moot Court Competition
The Duberstein National Team will compete in a non-qualifying Regional Event on February 19 in Chicago, IL (virtually),
and will also compete in the National Competition March 2–4 in Queens, NY.
They will be supported by Justin Bernbrock and Robert McLellarn of SheppardMullin.
UCLA / Williams Institute National Moot Court Competition
The UCLA National Team will compete March 16 in Los Angeles, CA
and will be supported by Judge Peter Henderson.
Our Anderson Center Moot Court Teams are under the guidance and direction
of the Anderson Center Moot Court Director, Professor Kari Sanderson.
Good luck to all of our Regional and National Moot Court Teams this spring!
11/20/2023
Please join the Anderson Center in heartily congratulating our NYCB Moot Court Team!
The Anderson Center’s NYCB Moot Court Team competed November 18 & 19 at Marquette University Law School in the Region VIII round of the 74th Annual National Moot Court Competition. The NMCC is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind.
Serena Cheng & Matthew Woodruff and Emma Overton & Gage Salicki argued issues of personal jurisdiction and whether a social media post promoting a security makes the promoter a seller under securities law. Both of the teams were praised for their professionalism and excellent courtroom demeanor throughout the weekend.
Emma and Gage started the event with the third best brief score in the competition and went on to win every argument round throughout the preliminary, tiebreaker, and semifinal rounds to advance to the final round on Sunday where they earned near-perfect scores from the judges to win the title of this year’s Region VIII competition! Gage was praised for his fantastic rebuttals and his thoughtfulness in answering questions. The judges remarked that he seemed like he was having fun. The judges appreciated Emma’s polish and her excellent responses to questions from the bench. They also noted she was unflappable, with one judge remarking Emma wouldn’t flinch if someone threw a brick at her. In the end, Emma was named Best Oral Advocate for the competition!
Matt and Serena also did an excellent job, winning their first round with high marks and narrowly losing their second to miss out on advancing in a highly competitive competition. The judges highlighted Matt’s phenomenal answers to hypos and his ability to tie the judges’ hypos back to his own arguments. Serena was praised for her ability to tie her arguments into opposing counsel’s, as well as for her poise, with one judge observing that her soft-spoken manner made her a “silent killer.”
With the Region VIII win, Emma and Gage will move on to compete against other regional winners in the National Finals held in New York, NY on January 29 – 31, 2024.
Our Anderson Center’s NYCB Moot Court Team is coached by Professor Penny Agallianos, who did an amazing job preparing them for this year’s competition!
We would also like to extend a very special thank-you to the following people who helped by sharing their time and invaluable expertise in judging the team’s practices: Professors Anderson, Christiansen, Fessler, Ghiotto, Keenan, Sanderson, Shobe, and attorneys Kevin Cassato, Robert DeLaney, and Elliot Louthen.
11/15/2023
Good Luck to our Anderson Center NYCB Moot Court Team who will be competing in the Regional of the New York City’s Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition hosted by Marquette Law School on November 18 and 19. Serena Cheng, Emma Overton, Gage Salicki and Matthew Woodruff will be arguing issues of personal jurisdiction and whether a social media post promoting a security makes the promoter a seller under securities law. Our team is coached by Professor Penny Agallianos. The Competition is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind.
11/15/2023
Congrats to the Anderson Center Negotiation Team for representing the College of Law at the ABA Regional Competition held virtually at McGeorge School of Law (CA) this past weekend. They were coached by Professor Amy Roebuck. Twenty-six teams competed in this year’s event. Dane Grounds and Sahar Mithani finished in the top tenand swept the ballots from the judges in the second preliminary round but were edged out from advancing to the final. Fizza and Anya won ballots in each preliminary and also performed exceptionally well! Multiple judges noted the strength of each team’s negotiation skills and commended them on their professionalism and preparation.
11/14/2023
Please join the Anderson Center in Congratulating our Chicago Cup Trial Team!
The Anderson Center’s Chicago Cup Trial Team competed November 9, 10, 11 at the first annual Chicago Cup Competition held at Chicago-Kent, DePaul, Northwestern, and University of Illinois-Chicago. During the competition, the team argued a criminal case regarding whether the defendant, a circuit court judge, committed honest services wire fraud by fixing the outcome of a case in exchange for money. The case problem was inspired by the 1980’s events of Operation Greylord.
Darineice Davis, Bethany Ekwonwa, Vindy Murthy and Jeana Pierson represented the College of Law. This team of remarkable 2Ls competed against much more experienced opponents from top advocacy schools across the region and after four rounds of competition, they emerged with the second highest number of ballots and earned Third Place in their very first trial competition! Darineice, Bethany, Vindy, and Jeana all received nominations from judges for best advocate, demonstrating the depth and balance of this team. They also successfully impeached a witness, impressed judges with their advocacy and preparation, and overcame their inexperience by working together in every round. We are tremendously proud of their effort, commitment, and the many hours they put in to prepare for the competition.
A very big thank you to our coach, Professor Shobe, and also to our fellow Trial Team members Allison Heil, Nina Grover, Michaela Newton, Vinisha Prajapati, Eliza Powers, and Mariana Renke for volunteering their time and support to help prepare them for competition.
11/13/2023
Please join the Anderson Center in Congratulating our Case Classic Trial Team!
The Anderson Center’s Case Classic Trial Advocacy Team competed November 10, 11, 12 at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center in Cleveland, OH at the Case Classic Trial Advocacy Competition. During the competition, the team argued a criminal case regarding whether the defendant committed a bank robbery based upon a combination of eyewitness identification testimony and forensic evidence.
The team competed amid a field of 30 teams from all over the country and went undefeated over the course of the first four rounds to make it to the semi-finals. Upon defeating Mercer University in the semi-finals, the team advanced to the final round whereupon they took Second Place in a split decision against Harvard University!
Joaquin Cabana, Annie Cebulski, Isaiah Eaton and Seon ki Jo represented the College of Law. Joaquin received an award recognizing him as the top advocate in the semi-final round, and numerous judges described his opening statement as among the best they had ever seen. Isaiah received praise from multiple judges who emphasized his passionate and professional closing argument, as well as his command of the evidence. Seon ki and Annie were commended for their strong and credible witness portrayals. Throughout the competition, judges and competitors alike commented on the team’s professionalism and high level of advocacy.
We are extremely proud of our Case Classic Team for their hard work and dedication. They worked well together, were professional with other teams and before the judges, and were notable examples of dedicated, tough, and ethical advocacy.
On behalf of the team, we would also like to thank our coaches, Matthew Goldman and Yasmeen Webb. We truly appreciate your time and support! We would also like to express a special thanks to recent Illinois College of Law alumni Katy Giuffre and Mike Fredendall for volunteering their time to help prepare this team for the competition.
11/9/2023
Good luck to our Anderson Center ABA Negotiation Teams! Dane Grounds, Sahar Mithani, Fizza Alam, Anya Bharat Ram and alternates Nick Holy and Jullia Massari will be competing virtually this weekend at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (November 10, 11, 12) in the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition. They will compete alongside twenty-two other teams from twelve universities for a share of the regional title and the chance to move on to Nationals next spring. The topic for this year’s competition is Torts. The teams have worked very hard to prepare for this year’s competition. Please join us in wishing the team and their coach, Professor Roebuck, good luck this weekend!
11/9/2023
Best of luck to our Anderson Center Trial Team who is competing this week in the First Annual Chicago Cup in the Windy City. Our 2L team of Darineice Davis, Bethany Ekwonwa, Vindy Murthy, and Jeana Pierson has worked hard to represent the College of Law. Good luck team!
11/9/2023
Best of Luck to our Anderson Center Case Classic Trial Team who are heading to Cleveland, Ohio to compete in the Case Classic Mock Trial Competition, sponsored by the Case Western Reserve University Ault Mock Trial Team. Isaiah Eaton, Joaquin Cabana, Annie Cebulski, and Seon ki Jo will be representing the College of Law November 10-12. The team will be arguing in a criminal case whether the defendant committed a bank robbery based upon a combination of eyewitness identification testimony and forensic evidence. Please join us in wishing good luck to our team and their coaches, Matthew Goldman and Yasmeen Webb!
11/7/2023
Please join the Anderson Center in Congratulating our Veterans National Moot Court Team!
The Anderson Center’s Veterans National Moot Court Team competed November 4 and 5 at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in the National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition sponsored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association, and the George Washington University Law School. The NVLMCC brings together teams from law schools around the country to argue cutting-edge veterans law issues before panels of distinguished practitioners and judges.
This is the first time the College has competed in this event and we are extremely proud of our team’s hard work preparing for the competition and for their performance throughout. Ekrem Genc, James O’Reilly, Joe Self, and Kevin Warren were uniformly praised by the judges for the strength of their arguments, in terms of both the merits and the way in which they were delivered.
In addition, the entire team displayed true mastery of the issues. The first issue being whether the Supreme Court should overturn the landmark Chevron case, which requires that courts defer to executive agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The second issue was one of statutory construction: whether a law requiring that a notification be “actually received” demands knowing receipt or mere physical receipt. These questions were presented in the important context of a U.S. military veteran suffering severe PTSD who was deprived of his benefits.
The judges were genuinely and thoroughly impressed with all four students’ knowledge of the facts, command of the law, professionalism, and poise. One judge even called Kevin’s argument in favor of overturning Chevron “riveting”—rare praise for a dense legal argument. And to cap off the weekend, Ekrem and Kevin won the award for Best Respondent’s Brief!* They were presented with impressive trophies for their accomplishment by the organizers of the competition.
We would like to thank all the practicing attorneys, judges, and professors who volunteered time out of their busy schedules to help prepare our two teams. The feedback they provided as we practiced throughout the past few weeks was enormously helpful. Thanks also to the organizers of the competition and the judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for ensuring such a successful event.
In addition, the team would also like to thank coach, Samuel Zuidema, for his time and unwavering support!
11/2/2023
Good luck to our Anderson Center Veterans Moot Court Team who will be competing in the National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition sponsored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association, and the George Washington University Law School, November 4-5, in Washington, D.C. Ekrem Genc & Kevin Warren and James O’Reilly & Joe Self will be arguing whether the Supreme Court should overturn the landmark case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., which held that courts must defer to executive agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes so long as the interpretation is reasonable. The competition also involves a question of statutory interpretation. The NVLMCC is the nation’s premier moot court event focusing on cutting-edge veterans law issues. Best of luck to our team and their coach, alum Sam Zuidema of Winston & Strawn.
10/19/2023
Best of luck to our Anderson Center Trial Team who is competing this weekend in the National Trial Advocacy Competition, held in Detroit, Michigan. Our 2L team of Harley Cavallo, Andrew Gray, Niki Hakimzadeh has been working extremely hard to represent the College of Law in this national trial tournament. They are coached by College of Law alums Josh Lawson and Dan Lewis. Good luck team!
10/18/2023
Please join the Anderson Center in recognizing all of the teams who competing in this year’s LLM Negotiation Competition. All of these students performed well and deserve recognition for their efforts.
Negin Keshavarzian
Mohammad Zaki
Anton Lundgren Akbarzadeh
Jennifer Boyaci
Douglas Lee
Yen Jung Huang
Cephas Chukwudi
Deborah Akinbobola
Hans An
Bella Sun
MaiHuong Nguyen
Parmis Azizinejad
Shakila Mohammadi
Anushka Borkar
Yuyue Zhong
Ruoyu Wang
The winning team of the 2023 Anderson Center LLM Negotiation Competition is
Some of the judge comments given in regard to the winning team were that Anton and Jennifer did “a wonderful job letting the other team get what they wanted initially, then pushing harder on other issues” and that they showed “great teamwork.” The judges also appreciated how the team negotiated “as a united front.”
The Second Place Team is
Hans and Bella also did a great job, and earned second place in the competition! The judges commended the team on their “good structure and keeping the issues on track.” They also appreciated the way the team “took control early” during the initial portion of the negotiation.
10/17/2023
Please join the Anderson Center in Congratulating our Emory National Moot Court Team!
The Anderson Center’s Emory National Moot Court Team competed October 13, 14, and 15 in Atlanta, GA in the Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition. Emory’s Civil Right’s competition embodies an important commitment to academic excellence and social justice and aims to inspire competitors to reflect upon the role civil rights and civil liberties serve in our society as well as how they can use their positions as advocates to further champion all civil rights and liberties.
Amanda Holme and Timothy Bruno successfully argued throughout the competition whether a public university took proper actions in addressing a Title IX. They did an amazing job, blazing through Octofinals with near perfect scores and advancing to Quarterfinals (top 8 of 28 teams total) where they narrowly missed advancing to Semis. The team also earned a Top Ten Brief award! Amanda and Tim received praise from the judges throughout the competition, with multiple judges commenting that they were already better appellate advocates then the majority of attorneys they see in practice.
This is the first time the College has competed in the Emory Civil Rights and Liberties competition and we are extremely proud of our team’s hard work preparing for the competition and for their performance throughout the event. They consistently represented the College of Law and the Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism as professional and competent advocates.
On behalf of the team, we would also like to thank our coaches, Professor Ghiotto and Professor Fessler, for their time and support!
10/12/23
Please join the Anderson Center in congratulating all of the finalists who competed in the 2023 ABA Negotiation Intraschool Competition!
The following teams advanced to the Championship Round. The final night was an impressive one all-round and these teams did a fantastic job, making it very hard on our expert panel of judges! All of these teams performed very well and deserve recognition for their efforts! Please be sure to congratulate these students on their fine achievement!
The winning team of the 2023 Anderson Center ABA Negotiation Competition is
Fizza and Anya will join the Anderson Center’s Negotiation Board and will compete in the 2023 ABA Regional Negotiation Competition next month.
Some of the judge comments given in regard to the winning team were that Fizza and Anya had a great opening, were well-prepared, and worked really well together throughout the negotiation. They were also impressed with their great teamwork and stated that Fizza and Anya gave the best pre-negotiation analysis of the night!
We also had a TIE for the Second Place Team for the first time in school history!
The teams of Rema Kodaimati & Julio Lara, and Joseph Saoud& James Zhang, also did an incredible job – with both teams netting the second best score of the evening!
In fact, all of the judges were so impressed with the skills of both of these teams, that we are extending an invitation for them to also join the Anderson Center’s Negotiation Board! As board members, Rema, Julio, Joseph and James will also compete in future Negotiation Regional Competitions.
10/11/23
Good luck Emory Moot Court Team
The Anderson Center’s Emory Moot Court Team will be competing in the 17th Annual Civil Rights and Liberties National Moot Court Competition hosted by Emory University School of Law, October 13-15, in Atlanta, GA. Amanda Holme and Tim Bruno will be arguing whether a public university took proper actions in addressing a Title IX complaint. The CRAL competition embodies a commitment to academic excellence and social justice and aims to inspire competitors to reflect upon the role civil rights and civil liberties serve in our society as well as how they can use their positions as advocates to further champion all civil rights and liberties. Please join the College in wishing good luck to our team and their coaches, Professor Ghiotto and Professor Fessler.
10/11/23
The Office of Graduate and International Programs would like to invite the law community to view the LLM Championship Round
to be held Wednesday, October 18, at Noon in Room D at the College of Law. The topic for this year’s competition is Family Law. Lunch will be provided to attendees. Competing teams will be Hans An & Qi Sun and Anton Lundgren Akbarzadeh & Jennifer Boyaci.
10/09/23
Please join the Anderson Center in Congratulating our Hofstra Medical-Legal Trial Team!
The Anderson Center’s Hofstra National Trial Advocacy Team competed October 6, 7, 8 in Hempstead, New York at the Hofstra Medical-Legal Trial Competition. During the competition, they represented both the plaintiff and the defendant in a wrongful death civil suit, working with real-life medical students who were playing the role of expert witnesses. After six grueling rounds, they defeated Chicago-Kent to win the Championship!
Nina Grover, Lili Klainer, Michaela Newton and Vinisha Prajapati represented the College of Law. They completed the competition undefeated, besting many of the nation’s top advocacy schools. Nina was recognized as one of the outstanding advocates for the preliminary rounds. Michaela and Lili received praise in both the semifinals and finals, with multiple judges commenting that Lili’s cross examination was the best they’ve ever seen in a trial competition. Throughout the competition, judges and competitors alike commented on the team’s professionalism and high level of advocacy. Vinisha was especially singled out for her high level of professionalism and preparation.
The Hofstra-Medical Competition is an invite only trial competition that only accepted 20 of the top advocacy schools in the country. It’s the only competition that emphasizes working with expert witnesses, an essential skill our advocates will carry with them into practice.
We are tremendously proud of our Hofstra Team for their hard work and dedication. They were wonderful teammates to one another, professional with other teams and before the judges, and great examples of zealous, tough, and ethical advocacy.
On behalf of the team, we would also like to thank our coaches, Olivia Romano and Kheana Pollard. We truly appreciate your time and support!
10/05/23
Best of luck to our Anderson Center Trial Team competing this weekend in the Hofstra Medical Expert Trial Competition, hosted by the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Nina Grover, Lili Klainer, Michaela Newton, and Vinisha Prajapati will be representing the College of Law in our first appearance in this national competition. This competition is the only trial competition that pairs trial teams with an actual medical student who serves as an expert witness in their trial. It affords an amazing opportunity for students to master working with expert witnesses in the trial setting. The College of Law was only one of twenty schools invited to compete. Best of luck to our amazing advocates, who are coached by alums Olivia Romano and Kheana Pollard.
10/05/23
Congratulations to our Anderson Center Trial Team who were finalists in the Summit Cup Trial Competition, hosted by the University of Denver School of Law. Our team of Madelyn Foster, Allison Heil, Eliza Powers, and Mariana Renke came in fourth place overall, defeating teams from Northwestern, Emory, and Baylor. They were coached by Visiting Associate Director of Trial Advocacy Stacey Shobe. The Summit Cup Trial Competition is an invitational tournament that only invites schools that have won a national trial competition within the past year. This was the College of Law’s first time competing in this truly national competition and placed us amongst the top advocacy schools in the country. Remarkably, this is the second competition in a row that Madelyn, Allison, Eliza, and Mariana have brought a trophy back to Champaign!
9/25/23
NEGOTIATION COMPETITION OPTIONAL WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITY: The Negotiation Board invites you to attend a workshop in advance of the upcoming intraschool negotiation competition. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 27, from 6-6:30 pm in Room B, and again on Tuesday, October 3, from 6-6:30 in Room B. Attendees will have the opportunity to develop skills and strategies that prove useful not only in competition, but in everyday situations. The workshop will run approximately thirty minutes with opportunities for questions, as well as one-on-one consultations with current board members after the event. Attendance is optional. Interested attendees need only attend one workshop. This event will NOT be recorded.
9/20/23
MOOT COURT BOARD SELECTION PROCESS – INFORMATION SESSION: An information session will be held on October 5 in Room C at Noon for LLM, 2L, and 3L students interested in trying out for membership on the Moot Court Board. Moot Court Board members compete in external moot court competitions, which require teams to write an appellate brief and conduct appellate-style oral arguments. For students who are unable to attend, a sign-up sheet to receive application-related emails will be circulated after the meeting.
9/12/23
ABA/LLM NEGOTIATION INFO/DEMO SESSION
Professor Amy Roebuck, Anderson Center Competition Director Deanna Shumard, and our Negotiation Board, will be holding an information meeting (with live demonstration) for all law students interested in potentially participating in the upcoming ABA and LLM Negotiation Competitions.
These competitions provide an excellent opportunity for all students to develop and strengthen their negotiation skills and receive feedback from experienced attorneys who judge them. Rounds will take place at the law school during the evening in early-October and will provide a great opportunity to work on practice skills.
When: September 14 @ Noon
Where: Auditorium
Free Boxed Meals for Attendees!
Announcements 2022-2023
4/5/23
Please join Professor Agallianos and the College of Law in congratulating
Serena Cheng
for being named Best Oral Advocate
in this year’s Frederick Green Moot Court Honorary Round!
Please also congratulate all of our talented finalists who did an outstanding job in yesterday’s arguments:
A very special thank you to our guest panel of judges:
The Honorable Leslie Abrams Gardner
United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
The Honorable Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong
United States District Court for the Central District of California
Roger A. Heaton
Attorney and Former U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois
3/27/23
CONGRATULATIONS MARSHALL MOOT COURT TEAM
Please join the College of Law and 3L student coach Rob DeLaney in congratulating our Marshall Moot Court team who competed in the FBA’s Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition in Washington D.C. This year’s problem involved the constitutionality of a felon re-enfranchisement statute under the Fourteenth and Twenty-Fourth Amendments. Alex Bailey and Natasha Spann advanced to the Sweet 16 from a field of forty. Judges commended Alex on his detailed knowledge of the record and professional demeanor when addressing opponents’ arguments and complimented Natasha for her clear and persuasive opening statements and use of history to support her argument. Amanda Holme and Kelley Izatt also received strong praise from the judges; Amanda for her confidence at the podium and ability to guide the judges through the complex fact pattern and Kelley for her poise, consistent delivery, and amazing flexibility with answering questions and getting back on point. Special thanks to the professors, attorneys, and students who helped prepare our teams for competition.
3/22/23
GOOD LUCK MARSHALL MOOT COURT TEAM
The College of Law’s Marshall Moot Court Team will compete in the Federal Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall National Moot Court Competition held in Washington, D.C. on March 22-23. The competitors will argue Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection) and Twenty-Fourth Amendment (poll tax) challenges to a law that allows felons to regain their voting rights but distinguishes between felons convicted of violent and non-violent offenses. Please join the College in wishing good luck to Alex Bailey, Amanda Holme, Kelley Izatt, Natasha Spann, and student coach Rob DeLaney!
3/15/23
CONGRATULATIONS NAAC MOOT COURT TEAM
Please join the College of Law and 3L Coach Austin Diehl in congratulating Gage Salicki, Yutai Qiao, James O’Reilly, and Ekrem Genc who competed in the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition in San Francisco. This year’s teams considered the question of whether First Amendment’s protections apply to college professors engaged in classroom instruction at public institutions. The competitors weighed the proper judicial test to be applied to retaliation and compelled speech claims in that setting. Both teams thoroughly briefed the questions presented and made stellar oral arguments for both the petitioner and respondent. Judges praised our team’s knowledge of the substantive law, professional style, ability to craft and reiterate a theme, and engagement with hypotheticals. We would also like to say thank you for the time and energy devoted by multiple professors, practitioners, and fellow moot court students in helping us to prepare for competition.
3/15/23
CONGRATULATIONS UCLA MOOT COURT TEAM
Please join the College of Law in congratulating our UCLA Moot Court team who competed this past weekend in the UCLA / Wms Inst National Moot Court Competition in Los Angeles. Our two teams, coached by 3L student Kevin Cassato, demonstrated a thorough understanding of the facts, case law, and policy implications surrounding the constitutionality of a state law prohibiting licensed therapists from providing conversion therapy to LGBTQ+ minors. Andrew Boykin, Emma Overton, Joe Self, and Kevin Warren performed admirably in the preliminary rounds and demonstrated great prowess in arguing complex issues. They thoroughly briefed the questions presented and made stellar oral arguments for both the petitioner and respondent. The judges praised all four competitors for being conversational and maintaining a confident demeanor when responding to difficult questions. Special thanks to the professors, attorneys, and judges who helped prepare them for the competition.
3/14/22
CONGRATULATIONS ANDERSON CENTER MOOT COURT TEAM
Please join the College of Law in congratulating Kevin Cassato and Robert DeLaney for their outstanding performance in the inaugural Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition held this past weekend at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. Consistent with the Anderson Center’s mission of promoting law school training in advocacy and professionalism, the problem for this year’s competition was based on real-life ethical issues faced by lawyers handling important civil litigation before the federal courts.
Kevin and Rob put on a stellar performance throughout the competition, starting with winning Best Appellee Brief and then tying for Second Best Oral Advocate for the competition. Going into the final round the scores for both teams were tied dead even, making this a super hard decision for the finalist judge panel comprised of Judge Thomas L. Kirsch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Chief Judge Pamela Pepper of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In the end, the team ended just shy of the trophy, but earned much praise from the judges who stated that the competitors were all better prepared than many attorneys they see in their courtrooms every day!
Our Anderson Center Moot Court Team is coached by Professor Colleen Ramais, who did a wonderful job preparing them for the Seventh Circuit competition. Special thanks to all of our law school professors and local practitioners and judges who also helped prepare the team for success. We simply would not be able to provide important experiential opportunities such as these for our students without your kind generosity of time and expertise that you so willingly provide each year and we are grateful for your continued support of our students.
3/8/23
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SCRIBES BRIEF-WRITING AWARD WINNERS
Please join the College of Law in congratulating Kevin Collareno and Sean Dunne (of our 2022 Wagner Moot Court Team) for winning this year’s Scribes Brief-Writing Award for their Best Respondent Brief from last spring’s Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Competition! Scribes launched its Brief-Writing Award in 1996 to recognize and celebrate excellent student-written briefs. They believe that legal writing is of paramount importance to law students and their careers, and hope to encourage good legal writing by recognizing its finest examples. As such, the Scribes Brief-Writing Award Committee considers submissions of moot-court briefs that have won first place in a national or regional moot-court competition during the prior academic year. The award committee then selects the best briefs from all of the winning briefs submitted. Way to go Kevin and Sean!
3/8/23
CONGRATULATIONS NEGOTIATION PRO BASKETBALL TEAM
Please join the College of Law in congratulating Negotiation Team members Rachel Aranyi and Nicholas Holy, who competed alongside 43 other teams representing 32 law schools on February 23 & 24 at the Tulane Professional Basketball Negotiation Competition in New Orleans. The competition simulates a Free Agency negotiation of a real player and uses current CBA information. Judges commented that Rachel and Nick worked well together, were firm, yet respectful, and got solid deals for their clients. This was the first time the College participated in the basketball competition, and we are very proud of our team’s performance! Our TPBNC Team is coached by Professor Randy Green.
3/8/23
GOOD LUCK ANDERSON CENTER MOOT COURT TEAM
The College of Law’s Anderson Moot Court Team will compete in the inaugural Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition held at the Everett M. Dirksen Courthouse in Chicago, IL on March 10-11. In keeping with the Anderson Center’s focus on the intersection of effective advocacy and commitment to professionalism, all teams will argue a problem based on real-life ethical issues faced by lawyers handling important civil litigation before the federal courts. Please join the College in wishing good luck to Kevin Cassato, Rob DeLaney, and their coach Professor Colleen Ramais!
3/8/23
GOOD LUCK UCLA MOOT COURT TEAM
The College of Law’s UCLA Moot Court Team will compete in the UCLA-Williams Institute National Moot Court Competition hosted by UCLA Law School in Los Angeles, on March 11. Students will argue First and Fourteenth Amendment challenges to a statute that restricts counseling related to the sexual orientation and gender identity of minors.Please join the College in wishing good luck to Andrew Boykin, Emma Overton, Joe Self, Kevin Warren, and student coach Kevin Collareno!
3/1/23
CONGRATULATIONS CLIENT COUNSELING TEAM
Please join the College of Law in congratulating our Client Counseling Team who competed February 17 & 18 at the ABA Regional Competition in Brooklyn, NY. Audrey Pauls and Anthony Gavrilchenko put in a top-notch performance, winning Best in Room during one round, and enough votes in all three rounds to advance them to the Semifinal Round of the competition. Christopher Opie and Kathryn Pilling were edged out of advancing, despite great performances by both members. In the end Audrey and Anthony placed 5th overall in the competition, becoming the twelfth U of I team to place in the top six of a regional tournament in the past thirteen years. Special thanks to fellow board members, Elizabeth Patton and Olivia Duggins for helping the teams prepare for competition.
3/1/23
CONGRATULATIONS NEGOTIATION PRO FOOTBALL TEAM
Please join the College of Law in congratulating Negotiation Team members Rodrigo Fonseca and Boris Mercado, who competed alongside 43 other teams representing 37 law schools on February 3 & 4 at the Tulane Professional Football Negotiation Competition in New Orleans. The team, coached by Professor Randy Green, represented both professional players and teams with a goal of reaching a contact extension agreement while also meeting specific client objectives during their negotiations. Judges commented that Rodrigo and Boris worked well together and were purposeful about framing the negotiations so objectives could be met. This was the first time the College participated in the competition and we are very proud of our team’s performance!
3/1/23
GOOD LUCK NAAC MOOT COURT TEAM
The College of Law’s NAAC Moot Court Team will compete in the American Bar Association Law Student Division’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition hosted at the USDC for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, CA on March 2-4. The competitors will argue two topical First Amendment issues: whether a community college can restrict – or compel – speech by its instructors. Please join the College in wishing good luck to Ekrem Genc, James O’Reilly, Yutai Qiao, Gage Salicki, and student coach Austin Diehl!
2/22/23
GOOD LUCK, NEGOTIATION PRO BASKETBALL TEAM
Members of the College of Law’s Negotiation Team, Rachel Aranyi and Nicholas Holy,will be competing February 23 & 24 at the Tulane Professional Basketball Negotiation Competition in New Orleans. The competition focuses on negotiation player contracts. Teams are given objectives and are scored on factors including negotiation strategy, knowledge of NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the quality of the agreed upon deal. Competition judges are industry experts ranging from NBA General Managers, to player agents, to ESPN writers and reporterts. Thirty-six schools from across the nation will be participating in this year’s event. Please join us in wishing our team good luck!
2/15/23
GOOD LUCK CLIENT COUNSELING TEAM
The College of Law’s Client Counseling Team will be traveling this week to compete in the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition hosted by Brooklyn Law School on February 17 and 18. The topic for this year’s competition is Transactional Contracts. Teams kick off the competition by submitting a 3,000 word memo to file based on a videotaped client statement prior to the event, and then compete in up to four rounds of interviewing, counseling, and addressing a client’s legal and non-legal needs. Both teams have been working very hard to prepare for this year’s competition. Please join the College in wishing good luck to Christopher Opie & Kathryn Pilling, and Anthony Gavrilchenko & Audrey Pauls. Both teams are coached by Professor James Noonan ‘11.
2/3/23
CONGRATULATIONS NYCB MOOT COURT TEAM
Please join the College of Law in congratulating Kevin Cassato and Rob DeLaney on their efforts after advancing to the national round of the New York City Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition. They competed alongside twenty-six teams from across the country – the best from each region – over the course of four days in the heart of Manhattan. The team won one round and narrowly lost the other; point allocation just edged them out of advancing to elimination rounds. We are proud of the hard work they have put into this year’s event – earning them a regional championship and best advocate award (DeLaney), and being a top twenty team in the country in this year’s competition. Kevin and Rob will continue to demonstrate their excellent oral advocacy skills again next month when they represent the College of Law at the inaugural Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition in Chicago.
2/2/23
GOOD LUCK, NEGOTIATION PRO FOOTBALL TEAM
Members of the College of Law’s Negotiation Team, Rodrigo Fonseca and Boris Mercado,will be competing February 3 & 4 at the Tulane Professional Football Negotiation Competition in New Orleans. The competition is a simulated contract negotiation using real life scenarios and actual upcoming NFL free agents. Experts in the industry serve as judges and the competition provides participants the opportunity to sharpen their negotiation skills as well as their knowledge of actual NFL contracts. Thirty-seven schools from across the nation will be participating in the competition. Please join us in wishing the team good luck!
1/29/23
GOOD LUCK NYCB NATIONAL MOOT COURT TEAM
The College of Law’s Regional-Winning NYCB Moot Court Team will be competing January 30 – February 2 in the New York City Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition. This year’s competition raises timely issues about whether a website’s use of a “bot” editor to create commentary makes the website a content provider under the Communications Decency Act, and whether the Reporter’s Shield applies to an entity with a financial interest in the dissemination of information. The competition is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind. Join the College in wishing good luck to Kevin Cassato and Robert DeLaney!
12/20/22
ABA CLIENT COUNSELING INFO/DEMO SESSION
Come to the Client Counseling Top Tips Informational Meeting with Live Demonstration by our Client Counseling Board Members!
This event will provide information regarding how to participate in the upcoming ABA/LLM Client Counseling competitions starting February 15 as well as showcase a demonstration of how a competition round runs. Professor James Noonan will act as judge for this demonstration by recent CC winning teams and then will follow up with feedback and tips on how you can be successful in our upcoming competition.
These competitions provide an excellent opportunity for all students to develop and strengthen their counseling skills and receive feedback from experienced attorneys who judge them. Rounds will take place at the law school during the evening in mid-February and will provide a great opportunity to work on practice skills.
When: January 25 @ Noon
Where: Auditorium
Free Boxed Meals for Attendees!
12/15/22
Please join the University of Illinois College of Law in congratulating the following students
who will argue next spring in the
Frederick Green Moot Court Honorary Round
(in alphabetical order)
The Honorary Round will be held Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in the Max L. Rowe Auditorium at the College of Law.
This year’s distinguished panel of honorary round judges will include
The Honorable Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The Honorable Leslie Abrams Gardner
United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
and
The Honorable Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong
United States District Court for the Central District of California
12/14/22
Please join the College of Law in congratulating the following students who have advanced to memberships
on our Regional and National Moot Court Teams.
These students will represent the College in moot court competitions across the country this spring.
Both the
Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition
The Anderson Center Regional Team will compete March 10–11 in Chicago, IL
and be supported by Professor Colleen Ramais.
and also the
NYCB / National Moot Court Competition
The NYCB National Team will compete January 30–February 2 in New York, NY
and be supported by Professor Penny Agallianos.
FBA / Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition
The Marshall National Team will compete March 22–23 in Washington, D.C.
and be supported by 3L student coach Rob DeLaney.
ABA / National Appellate Advocacy Competition
The NAAC National Team will compete March 2–4 in San Francisco, CA
and be supported by 3L student coach Austin Diehl.
UCLA / Williams Institute National Moot Court Competition
The UCLA National Team will compete March 11 in Los Angeles, CA
and be supported by 3L student coach Kevin Collareno.
Our National Moot Court Teams and 3L Student Coaches are under the guidance and direction
of the College’s Moot Court Director, Professor Penny Agallianos.
Good luck to all of our Moot Court Teams this spring!
PAST ANNOUNCEMENTS
11/21/22
CONGRATULATIONS NYCB MOOT COURT TEAM
Please join the College of Law in congratulating Kevin Cassato and Robert DeLaney for their outstanding performance in the regional round of the 73rd National Moot Court Competition held at Marquette University Law School this past weekend. This year’s competition raised interesting issues about whether a website’s use of a “bot” editor to create commentary makes the website a content provider under the Communications Decency Act, and whether the Reporter’s Shield applies to an entity with a financial interest in the dissemination of information.
Kevin and Rob started the competition with a great brief score and went on to dominate the competition by winning both preliminary rounds and a quarterfinal round on Saturday. These wins advanced them to the semifinal round on Sunday where they continued to perform exceedingly well, winning their round handily and advancing to the final round held later that afternoon. The team then continued to rock the final round, impressing the judges, and blowing away the competition. Before announcing the winning team, the judge panel praised Rob for his demeanor and loved that he treated questions from the bench as an “intellectual curiosity.” They continued to praise Kevin for his “sophisticated and nuanced arguments” and his knockout rebuttals. In the end, the University of Illinois won the Regional Championship, earned the Second Best Brief (by less than half a point), and Rob Delaney was awarded Best Oral Advocate! Outstanding job Kevin and Rob!
With the win, the team will move on to compete against other regional winners in the National Finals held in Washington, D.C. on January 30 – February 2, 2023. Our NYCB Moot Court Team is coached by Professor Penny Agallianos, who did a wonderful job preparing them for the regional competition!
11/16/2022
Good Luck NYCB Moot Court Team
The College of Law’s NYCB Moot Court Team will be competing in the Regional of the New York City Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition hosted by Marquette Law School, November 20 & 21. This year’s competition raises interesting issues about whether a website’s use of a “bot” editor to create commentary makes the website a content provider under the Communications Decency Act, and whether the Reporter’s Shield applies to an entity with a financial interest in the dissemination of information. The competition is co-sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind. Join the College in wishing good luck to Kevin Cassato and Robert DeLaney!
2022-2023
2022-2023
11/07/22
CONGRATULATIONS ABA NEGOTIATION TEAM
Congratulations to our negotiation teams on their great performances during the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition at Drake Law School this past weekend! Madelyn Foster (2L) and Julia Massari (2L) won the majority of ballots in both preliminaries, advancing them to the Final Round. Judges commented on the strength of their ability to present creative solutions while adhering to their client’s needs. The team also earned high marks on their pre- and post-negotiation analysis presentations. They ultimately placed seventh overall (out of twenty-eight teams) in the competition!
Rachel Aranyi (2L) and Nick Holy (2L) won a majority of ballots in the first of their two preliminary rounds and also did a great job. Judges commented on how well they defined objectives, moved negotiations forward, and their excellent communication skills.
Dane Grounds and Sahar Mithani also helped prepare for regionals and attended as alternates. Our negotiation teams are mentored and coached by Professor Amy Roebuck.
10/31/22
GOOD LUCK ABA NEGOTIATION TEAM
University of Illinois College of Law Negotiation Team Members Rachel Aranyi, Nicholas Holy, Madelyn Foster, Julia Massari, and alternates Dane Grounds and Sahar Mithani, will travel to Drake Law School this weekend to participate in the American Bar Association’s Regional Negotiation Competition. They will compete alongside twenty-two other teams from fourteen universities for a share of the regional title and the chance to move on to Nationals next spring. The topic for this year’s event is Neighbor Disputes. The teams have been working very hard to prepare for this year’s competition. Please join the College in wishing them good luck this weekend!
10/18/22
2022 LL.M. NEGOTIATION COMPETITION WINNERS
Please join the University of Illinois College of Law in congratulating Best Aghughu and Emmanuela Offojebe on winning the intraschool LL.M. Negotiation Competition.
Some of the judge comments given in regard to the winning team were that Best and Emmanuela has “excellent organization” and did a good job “tabling an issue that was not moving forward [in order to] move on to another issue… then circled back, linking the two issues – reaching one solution to two problems.” The judges also appreciated how the team “made a bold ‘ask’ on the major financial issue [involved]” and the way they “obtained [an] agreement by arguing strongly for a point that their client was willing to give up and then conceding that point.” In the end, Best and Emmanuela were able to obtain “a generous result for their client, without compromising on the issues most important to the client.”
Sanna Olsson Ingren and Elena Vinciguerra also did a great job and earned Second Place in the competition. The judges commended the team on their excellent pre-planning, and having a great agenda that laid out everything step-by-step and focused on “the why.” The team emphasized “their desire to negotiate in a respectful and reasonable manner, keeping in mind the delicate nature of the parties’ family situation.” The team also “had an agenda in mind for the session and were able to get the other team to agree to their agenda.” Lastly, the judges appreciated the way Sanna and Elena “recognized the need to summarize the terms of the parties’ agreements” as the negotiation concluded.
Please also join us in recognizing all of the teams who competed in this year’s LL.M. Negotiation Competition. All of these students performed well and deserve recognition for their efforts:
Giulia Coppola
Davis Vissers
Maria de la Paz Otálvares
Hanna Maria Czarnocka
Elona Addah
Latifat Moradeyo
Zhihua Su
Yuyue Zhong
Maseeh Syed Yazdani
Nishtha Nikhil Gupta
Aleksei Vorona
Ishaan Borthakur
Justice Ukpabi
Esther Ekejiuba
Mubarak Raji
Habeeb Adekola
Renate Creutzberg
Tommaso Minna
Diana Mamendi
Elena Agnelli
10/12/22
2022 ABA NEGOTIATION COMPETITION WINNERS
Please join the University of Illinois College of Law in congratulating Sahar Mithani and Dane Grounds on winning the intraschool ABA Negotiation Competition. Sahar and Dane will join the College of Law’s Negotiation Board and will be alternates for the 2022 ABA Regional Negotiation Competition next month. They will also compete the followingt November in the 2023 ABA Regional Negotiation Competition.
Some of the judge comments given in regard to the winning team were that Sahar and Dane “did a great job of managing a very competitive and compelling negotiation,” and that they did a “great job of recognizing when parties were becoming entrenched… and bringing the negotiation back to a productive place.”
The judges also stated the team’s “pre-negotiation analysis was fantastic! 10/10!,” that the team had “excellent heat of the moment insight during a tough negotiation,” and that they had great “team balance and pre-planning [skills].”
Katy Rose O’Brien and Bobby Mannis also did a great job, and received Second Place. All of the judges commended them on a great pre-negotiation analysis, their mastery of the numbers, asking questions to ensure clarity, and felt the team did “fantastic work re-centering the conversation [when needed].” They also felt the team had creative solutions, did a good job of structuring and providing a timeline, and achieved their client’s goals.
If Sahar and Dane are unable to compete for any reason next season, then Katy Rose and Bobby will be called upon to compete in their place at the 2023 Regional next fall.
Please also congratulate all of the other finalist teams that made it to the Championship Round of the competition. All of these students performed well and deserve recognition for their efforts:
Tristan Lynch & Jack Mulligan
Anthony Gavrilchenko & Isaiah Eaton
Katharine Sexton & Tessa Carr
Alex Jilizian & Richard Sammartino
9/13/22
ABA NEGOTIATION INFO/DEMO SESSION
Professor Amy Roebuck, Competition Coordinator Deanna Shumard, and our Negotiation Board will be holding an informational meeting (with live demonstration) for all law students interested in potentially participating in the upcoming ABA and LLM Negotiation Competitions.
These competitions provide an excellent opportunity for all students to develop and strengthen their negotiation skills and receive feedback from experienced attorneys who judge them. Rounds will take place at the law school during the evening in early-October and will provide a great opportunity to work on practice skills.
When: September 22 @ Noon
Where: Auditorium
Free Boxed Meals for Attendees!