Villanova Law Moot Court Board Competes in Appellate Advocacy Competitions

This semester Villanova Law’s Moot Court Board members found success in various National Appellate Advocacy Competitions, where they faced teams from law schools across the country. Each team consisted of two students from the Moot Court Board, the principal oral advocacy organization at Villanova Law which aims to enhance and showcase students’ courtroom advocacy skills.

Participants analyzed and argued cutting-edge legal issues for hypothetical cases, from either the plaintiffs’ side or the defendants’. They used procedures modeled after those employed in state and federal appellate courts.

At the National Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare & Adoption Law at Capital University, March 18-19, Tasha Nankerville ’22 and Taylor Tyson ’22 were victorious in the final round. Nankerville was recognized as the best oralist after both the final round and the preliminary round, and Tyson was named one of the top ten oralists of the preliminary round. Emily O’Leary ’22 was the team’s student coach and Kristine Calalang ’04 was the alumni coach.

Kaely Lawler ’23 and Lyndsey Marcus ’23 won the final round of the 38^th Annual Cardozo BMI Entertainment and Media Law Moot Court Competition on March 24. Lisa Maeyer ’22 and Keelin Austin ’14 coached the team.

The Board’s other recent successes include:

• At the 51^st Annual William B. Spong Tournament hosted by William & Mary Law School on February 18-20, Riley Cook ’23 and Madelyn Phinney ’23 advanced to the quarterfinal round, while Isabelle Roman ’23 and Alexandra Romano ’23 advanced to the octo-final round. Andrew Bandini ’22 and Jake Glancy ’22 coached both teams.
• Zach Moniz ’23 and Josey Richards ’23 advanced to the octo-final round at the National Energy & Sustainability Moot Court Competition at West Virginia University on March 2-5. Rebecca Velez ’22 and Vanessa Huber ’20 coached the team.
• Seth Ford ’22 and Sierra Stockley ’22 were quarterfinalists in the 37^th Annual Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition at Brooklyn Law School, held March 24-27. Mara Stella ’22 and Eugene Tsvilik ’17 coached the team.
• In the final competition of the season, the Moot Court Board sent two teams to the Touro Law Center's Eighth Annual Moot Court Competition in Law and Religion held April 3-4. The team consisting of Andrew Bandini ’22 and Caroline Rini ’22 came in second place. Andrew Klee ’22 and alums Kaitlin Macaulay ’18 and Jamie Pizzi ’18 coached the team. The team of Emily O’Leary ’22 and Rebecca Velez ’22 finished as semifinalists in the competition, coached by Gabrielle Talvacchia ’22 and the Honorable Elizabeth T. Hey ’89. Additionally, O’Leary received the award for second-best oralist and Rini received the award for fourth-best oralist.

The Board acknowledges Villanova Law faculty, including Dean Risch, Profs. Aagaard, Bachar, Brogan, Dempsey, Juliano, Lund, Momjian, O’Hare, Ryan, Samahon and Weber, for taking the time to help the students prepare for their outside competitions this year. Their expertise was invaluable and a key factor in the Board’s remarkable success.