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Two teams from Drake Law School recently competed in the regional rounds of the 64th Annual National Moot Court Competition. This long-running competition is run by the Young Lawyers Committee of the New York City Bar and is co-sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers. The University of Minnesota Law School hosted this year’s regional rounds in Minneapolis held in mid-November.
Drake teams swept most of the awards at the regional competition – including both brief awards. The team of Lori Bullock, Rob Conklin, and Clarissa Thiessen wrote the Best Petitioner’s Brief and the team of Mara Jones, Kyle Mendenhall, and Louie Sloven wrote the Best Respondent’s Brief.
The team of Lori Bullock, Rob Conklin, and Clarissa Thiessen were undefeated until the semi-finals. Lori Bullock was ranked 2nd best oralist through the quarter-finals and Rob Conklin was named the 4th best oralist through the quarter-finals.
The two Drake teams met each other in the semi-finals, with the team of Jones, Mendenhall, and Sloven advancing. This team became the 2013-14 Regional Champions by defeating a team from William Mitchell Law School in the finals.
“I was very proud of how the students performed with respect to both their oral and written advocacy,” says Professor Laurie Dore. “It is quite an accomplishment to win the competition and both brief awards. The students were outstanding representatives of Drake Law School.”
Mara Jones received the silver bowl awarded to the Best Oralist in the Final Round. Mara Jones, Kyle Mendenhall, and Louie Sloven will represent Drake in the National Finals in New York City in February.
In addition to the outstanding work of Laurie Doré, there are several Drake Law faculty involved in preparing the teams: Professors Mark Kende, Miguel Schor, Tony Gaughan, and Danielle Shelton.