NVLMCC

Congratulations to Haley Mowdy and Stephen Carl of Baylor Law School, who won Best Team at the 2018 National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition, and thanks to everyone who competed in this year’s competition! Nineteen teems from 15 law schools took part this year, which marked the 10th year of the competition.

The winning Baylor team faced off against Bryan Medema and Kuliaikanu’u Petzoldt of the George Washington University Law School. Bryan and Kulia won the Best Petitioner’s Brief award; Best Respondent’s Brief went to Travis Linthicum and William Farmer of South Texas College of Law Houston. Samuel Fox of Pepperdine University School of Law won Best Oral Advocate after earning the highest scores in the two preliminary rounds of the competition.

The final round was judged by Chief Judge Robert Davis, Judges Toth and Falvey, and Senior Judge Lawrence Hagel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The Semifinal rounds were judged by Judge Michael Allen of the CAVC; Amy Odom, president of the CAVC Bar Association and an attorney with Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick, and Megan Kral, a past president of the CAVC Bar Association and an attorney with the Veterans Court Litigation Group at VA’s Office of General Counsel.

Thanks to all the competitors, coaches, and volunteers from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the CAVC Bar Association, and GW Law who made our 10th competition a tremendous success, and a special thanks to the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program for donating the trophies for this year’s competition.

The 15 schools competing in this year’s competition were: American University Washington College of Law; Baylor Law School; Brooklyn Law School; Campbell University School of Law (a first-time competitor); Elon University School of Law; Emory University School of Law; the George Washington University Law School (one of two schools to compete all 10 years); New York Law School; Pepperdine University School of Law; South Texas College of Law Houston; Stetson University College of Law (the other school to compete all 10 years); Syracuse University College of Law; University of Detroit Mercy College of Law; University of Florida Levin College of Law; and Widener University School of Law.

Thanks to everyone who competed in the 2017 National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition! Nineteen teams from 16 law schools took part in this year’s competition, including six first-time participants.

This year, the Baylor Law School team of Alex Oestreich and Leah Towe took top honors as Best Team, arguing against Monica Ferreira and Alexander Mazza, from Brooklyn Law School, in the final round. Michelle Gallo and Kevin Packer, of Widener University Delaware School of Law, won Best Petitioner’s Brief; Best Respondent’s Brief went to Christopher Robertson and Greg Urbach of South Texas College of Law Houston. John Arnett of Stetson University College of Law won Best Oral Advocate after earning the highest scores in the two preliminary rounds of the competition.

The final round was judged by Judges Michael Allen and Joseph Toth and Senior Judge William Moorman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The semifinal rounds were judged by Gregory Block, Clerk of the Court at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; Mary Ann Flynn, Chief Counsel of the Veterans Court Litigation Group at VA’s Office of General Counsel; and Robert Chisholm, a founding partner at the firm of Chisholm Chisholm & Kikpatrick.

Thanks to all the competitors, coaches, and volunteers from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the CAVC Bar Association, and GW Law who made this competition a tremendous success, and a special thanks to the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program for donating the trophies for this year’s competition.

The 16 schools competing in this year’s competition were: Baylor Law School; Brooklyn Law School; Elon University School of Law; Emory University School of Law; Florida Coastal School of Law; the George Washingon University Law School; J. Reuben Clark Law School, BYU; New York Law School; Penn State Law; South Texas College of Law Houston; Stetson University College of Law; Syracuse University College of Law; University of Denver Sturm College of Law; University of Florida Levin School of Law; Widener University School of Law; and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Thanks to everyone who competed in the 2016 National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition! With 24 teams from 17 law schools, including two first-time participants, this was one of our largest competitions to date.

This year, the Baylor Law School team of Savanna Barlow and Marcus Fifer took top honors as Best Team, arguing against Lauren Livingston and Kyle Steingreaber, also of Baylor, in the final round. Savanna and Marcus also won Best Petitioner’s Brief; Best Respondent’s Brief went to Hoyt Prindle III and Taylor Ryan of the Stetson University College of Law. Paul Hubbell of Houston College of Law won Best Oral Advocate after earning the highest scores in the two preliminary rounds of the competition.

Thanks to all the competitors, coaches, and volunteers from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the CAVC Bar Association, and GW Law who made this competition a tremendous success, and a special thanks to the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program for donating the trophies for this year’s competition.

The 17 schools competing in this year’s competition were: The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University; Baylor Law School; Emory University School of Law; Florida Coastal School of Law; the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School; the Georgetown University Law Center; the George Washington University Law School; Golden Gate University School of Law; Houston College of Law; the John Marshall Law School; New York Law School; Penn State Law; Stetson University College of Law; the University of Denver Sturm College of Law; University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; University of Missouri School of Law; and William & Mary Law School.

26 Teams Participate in the Seventh Annual National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition

On November 14 and 15, 2015, 26 teams representing 17 law schools from around the country competed in the seventh-annual National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition (NVLMCC) in Washington, D.C.—by far the NVLMCC’s largest competition to date. This year’s competition was again co-sponsored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), the CAVC Bar Association, and The George Washington University Law School (GW Law). The two-person teams addressed two issues in the fictional Supreme Court case Nicholas v. McDonald.

Correy Karbiener and Taylor Ryan of Stetson University College of Law won Best Team, with Erin Brennan and Giovanni Giarratana, also of Stetson, earning the runner-up title. The two Stetson teams argued before Chief Judge Lawrence Hagel and Judges Margaret Bartley and William Greene of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

In the semifinal rounds, the Stetson teams faced off against Bethany Rishell and Crystal Weeks of the Georgetown University Law Center and Lindsay Johnson and William Kellogg of the Pepperdine University School of Law. The semifinalists argued before a panel comprised of Cynthia Brandon-Arnold, Chief Staff Attorney of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Central Legal Staff; Mary Ann Flynn, VA Chief Counsel for the Veterans Court Litigation Group; and Zachary Stolz, a partner at Chisholm, Chisholm & Kilpatrick.

In addition to winning Best Team, Correy Karbiener and Taylor Ryan also won the award for Best Respondent’s Brief. Erin Brennan of Stetson earned the Best Oral Advocate title, and Andrea Sherman and Timothy Joseph, of Penn State Law, earned Best Petitioner’s Brief.

In all, nearly 100 volunteers worked behind the scenes to make this year’s NVLMCC a resounding success, including attorneys from the CAVC, VA, and private bar who judged the competitors’ briefs and oral arguments and drafted the competition problem; GW Law students and staff who performed technical scoring and made sure the Saturday rounds ran smoothly; and CAVC staff and Court Security Officers who supported the Sunday rounds. GW Law hosted a reception for the competitors, coaches, and judges Saturday afternoon. The Sunday semifinal and final rounds took place in the CAVC courtroom.

The 17 participating schools were: Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University; Baylor Law School; Charleston School of Law; Chicago-Kent College of Law; Emory University School of Law; Florida Coastal School of Law; The George Washington University Law School; Georgetown University Law Center; Golden Gate University School of Law; The John Marshall Law School; New York Law School; Penn State Law; Pepperdine University School of Law; Stetson University College of Law; University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; University of Missouri School of Law; University of Washington School of Law; Widener University Delaware Law School; and William & Mary Law School.

On November 15 and 16, 2014, the sixth annual National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition (NVLMCC) drew law students from around the country to Washington, D.C. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), the CAVC Bar Association, and The George Washington University Law School (GW Law), this year’s NVLMCC drew 20 teams from 14 law schools, tying the competition’s all-time record for the number of teams competing and setting a new record for the number of law schools in attendance. The two-person teams addressed two issues in the fictional Supreme Court case Earhart v. McDonald.

Lyal Fox III and Jared Reynolds of the Chicago-Kent College of Law won Best Team, beating Frances Denizard and Alexander Gilewicz of the Florida Coastal School of Law in the final round of the competition. The two teams argued before Judges William Moorman, Margaret Bartley, and William Greene of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

In the semifinal rounds, the Chicago-Kent and Florida Coastal teams beat Ethan Singleton and John King of the Widener University School of Law and Lindsay Johnson and Emily Suhr of the Pepperdine University School of Law. The semifinal rounds were judged by a panel comprised of Gregory Block, Clerk of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; Mary Ann Flynn, VA Assistant General Counsel for Professional Staff Group VII; and Louis George, Director of Outreach and Education Components for the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program and Director of Training and Publications for the National Veterans Legal Services Program.

In addition to winning Runner Up Team, Frances Denizard and Alexander Gilewicz won the award for Best Petitioner’s Brief, and Alexander Gilewicz also won Best Oral Advocate. Christopher Ferlito and Jennifer Richards of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law won the award for Best Respondent’s Brief.

More than 75 volunteers helped to make this year’s NVLMCC a success, including more than 50 attorneys from the CAVC, VA, and private bar who judged the competitors’ briefs and oral arguments and drafted the competition problem, as well as the CAVC staff, Court Security Officers, and GW Law students and staff who helped make sure that the Saturday and Sunday rounds ran smoothly. GW Law hosted a reception for the competitors, coaches, and judges Saturday afternoon. The Sunday semifinal and final rounds took place in the ceremonial courtroom of the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse.

The 14 participating schools were the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University; the Chicago-Kent College of Law; the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; the Florida Coastal School of Law; the George Washington University Law School; the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University; the John Marshall Law School; the University of Missouri School of Law; the Pepperdine University School of Law; the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University; the Stetson University College of Law; the Texas A&M University School of Law; the Widener University School of Law; and the William & Mary School of Law.

On November 16 and 17, 2013, law students from around the country converged in Washington, D.C., to take part in the fifth annual National Veterans Law Moot Court Court Competition (NVLMCC). Co-sponsored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), the CAVC Bar Association, and The George Washington University Law School (GW Law), this year’s NVLMCC drew 16 teams from 10 law schools. The two-person teams addressed two issues in the fictional Supreme Court case Yossarian v. Shinseki.

The Stetson University College of Law team of Jeremy Bailie and Kevin Crews won Best Team, beating the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (UDM) team of Cory Foglesong and Brett Vasicek in the final round. Stetson and UDM bested teams from Georgetown University Law Center and Chicago-Kent School of Law in the semifinal rounds. Stetson also won Best Petitioner’s Brief; Best Respondent’s Brief went to Germese Gee and Nathan Chan of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Dustin Karrison of the Chicago-Kent College of Law was named Best Oral Advocate.

The competitors’ briefs and the Saturday preliminary and quarterfinal rounds at GW Law were judged by nearly 40 volunteers, including CAVC attorneys, VA attorneys, and experienced veterans law practitioners. GW Law also hosted a reception for the competitors, coaches, and judges Saturday afternoon. The Sunday semifinal rounds at the CAVC were judged by Gregory O. Block, Clerk of the Court for the CAVC, Laura Eskenazi, Executive in Charge and Vice Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and Aniela Szymanski, President Elect of the CAVC Bar Association and an attorney at Bergmann & Moore, LLC. The final round was judged by CAVC Judges Mary Schoelen, Margaret Bartley, and William Greene.

The 10 participating schools this year were The John Marshall Law School, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Stetson University College of Law, South Texas College of Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, The George Washington University Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Missouri School of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law.

On November 3 and 4, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) and the CAVC Bar Association co-sponsored the fourth annual National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition (NVLMCC), which was hosted by the George Washington University School of Law. The NVLMCC was another resounding success in introducing students to veterans law and bringing together practitioners from all areas of veterans law. The two-person teams addressed two issues in the fictional case of Shinseki v. Sickles before the Supreme Court.

Ultimately, the Georgetown University Law Center team of Jeffrey DeSousa and Mitchell London won out as the overall champions. Georgetown and Stetson University College of Law bested teams from the South Texas College of Law in the semi-finals. In addition to being half of the winning team, Georgetown team member Jeffrey DeSousa also earned top oral advocate honors. The best petitioner’s brief award went to Stetson University College of Law, and two teams—the other Stetson team and a team from the South Texas College of Law—tied for best respondent’s brief.

The briefs, the preliminary argument rounds, and the semi-final rounds were judged by Court staff, VA attorneys, and experienced veterans law practitioners. The semi-finals were judged by Martin Hockey of the U.S. Department of Justice, Zachary Stolz of Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick, and the CAVC’s Central Legal Staff’s Cynthia Brandon-Arnold. The final round was judged by a panel of judges from the CAVC, comprising Judges Greene, Hagel, and Bartley.

Overall, twenty teams from thirteen law schools competed in the competition, including: Florida Coastal School of Law, George Washington Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, John Marshall Law School, Lincoln Memorial University – Duncan School of Law, Mississippi College School of Law, North Carolina Central University School of Law, South Texas College of Law, Stetson University College of Law, Thomas Cooley Law School, University of Illinois, University of Missouri Law School and the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law.

Reactions from the students and the judges were extremely positive. The judges were very impressed by the quality of advocacy displayed by the students, especially those who qualified for the elimination rounds on the second day. In addition to the competition itself, the participants enjoyed outstanding hospitality from the George Washington University School of Law, which not only provided facilities and support staff for the preliminary rounds on Saturday, but also treated everyone to excellent spreads of refreshments throughout the competition and a fine reception on Saturday evening. Once again, the competition was made possible by the extraordinary efforts of dozens of members of the CAVC and the CAVC Bar Association.

Congratulations to all participants in the 2011 competition!! The winning team was Emily Chambers and Jeffrey DeSousa from Georgetown University Law Center, who defeated Diana Evans and John Henley of Stetson University College of Law in the finals. Emily Chambers and Diana Evans tied for Best Advocate (down to the half point!). Diana and John also won Best Petitioner’s Brief while Emily and Jeffrey won Best Respondent’s Brief. The two other semi-finalist teams were both from the Florida Coastal School of Law. They were Michael Hunter & Krisi White and Ross Darville & Jennie Simons.

Congratulations to the 2010 NVLMCC Champions Erin Isdell and William Hurter of Stetson University College of Law

On October 16th and 17th, the Court and the CAVC Bar Association co-sponsored the second annual National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition, which was hosted by the George Washington University School of Law. Twelve teams from eight different schools participated.

The second VLAAC was another resounding success in bringing together practitioners from all sides of veterans law and introducing students to veterans law. The briefs, the preliminary argument rounds, and the semi-final rounds were judged by Court staff, VA attorneys, and experienced veterans law practitioners. The final round was judged by a panel of judges from the CAVC comprised of Judge Greene, Judge Hagel, and Judge Schoelen.

Best Petitioner’s Brief was awarded to Jonathan Gaffney and Caroline Pham of the George Washington University School of Law. Best Respondent’s Brief was awarded to Jenny Liabenow and Michael Mackhanlall from Florida A&M University College of Law. The semi-final teams represented George Washington, Florida A&M, the Stetson University College of Law, and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The other schools participating in the competition were Florida Coastal School of Law, The John Marshall Law School, North Carolina Central University, and the University of Virginia School of Law. Ultimately, the Stetson team of Erin Isdell and William Hurter successfully defended the schools title as the overall champion and William Hurter was awarded the title of Best Advocate after defeating the George Washington team in the final round where both schools were arguing on brief. Reactions from the students and the judges were resoundingly positive.

Many students were excited to work on an issue (equitable tolling) that is scheduled to be argued before the Supreme Court in December. The judges commented on the outstanding quality of advocacy displayed by the students, especially those who qualified for the elimination rounds on the second day. In addition to the competition itself, the participants enjoyed red carpet treatment from the George Washington University School of Law, which not only provided facilities and support staff for the preliminary rounds on Saturday, but also treated everyone to an excellent spread of refreshments throughout the competition.

Once again, the competition was made possible by the extraordinary efforts of dozens of members of the CAVC and the Bar Association. It would not have happened without the tireless efforts of Alice Kerns, who coordinated all of the logistics that went into making the event happen and James Ridgway, who once again drafted the problem, helped grade the briefs, and tabulated the results throughout the weekend. Of course, the ultimate credit for this success must go to all of the volunteers who stepped up to act as judges, hosts, and staff before and during the competition.

Congratulations to the 2009 NVLMCC Champions Chase Hattaway and Megan O’Neill of Stetson University College of Law

The 2009 participant schools were: Washington College of Law, American University; Boston University School of Law; Georgetown University Law Center; The George Washington University Law School; Howard University School of Law; The John Marshall Law School; North Carolina Central University School of Law; and Stetson University College of Law.