During Supreme Court Celebration week at the Drake University Law School, law students had the opportunity to celebrate the Iowa Supreme Court as well as become more familiar with appellate court procedure and arguments through the Supreme Court Competition.
This year’s participants were assigned Hershel Farm Co. v. Woodbury Transport Services, Inc., a case regarding whether an indemnity agreement violates public policy or Minnesota law. The top four students moved on in the competition, presenting their final arguments to the Iowa Supreme Court.
The four finalists were Lori Bullock, Austin Mouw, David Ranscht, and Kevin Rutan. Bullock earned best oralist, landing her the Rodney L. Hudson Appellate Advocacy Award, the top award given at the competition.
The Supreme Court Celebration concluded on Saturday, April 5, with a banquet. The banquet began in Kern Commons with a reception, and continued in Parents Hall. The following individuals received awards at the banquet:
• Lori Bullock, The Rodney L. Hudson Appellate Advocacy Award
• Nicholas Hodne, Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Patrick Tickner, Student Bar Association (SBA) President’s Student Service Award
• Samuel Huff IV, SBA Executive Board’s Outstanding Student Leader Award
• John Edwards, SBA Executive Board’s Dean Service Award
• Jennifer Zwagerman, Shawn Madsen, SBA Executive Board’s Staff Service Award
• Andrew Jurs, The Leland Forrest Outstanding Professor Award
• Tom and Lori Bullock, SBA Shane Sweeney Supportive Spouse Award
• Mara Jones, Jeffrey and Elizabeth Goodman Distinguished Advocate Award
• Cole Mayer, International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award
• Ashley Sparks, The Robert J. Kromminga Award
• Jacob Lantry, Kyle Mendenhall, The Timothy N. Carlucci Award
• Sharon Wegner, The Ferguson Prize – Gold Award
• Amber Rivera, The Ferguson Prize – Silver Award
• Joshua Strief, The Martin Tollefson Award
• Lori Bullock, The Justice David and Madonna Harris Award (Formerly known as the William and Ellen Cooney Hoye Award)
• Robert Evans, The K.M. Waggoner Peer Mentoring Award
• Tayler Haggerty, The Drake University Law School Diversity Award
• Amber Rivera, The Marsha Ternus Outstanding Child Advocate Award
• Meredith Cooney, Dominic Anania, The Drake University Law School Prosecution Excellence Award
Special guests included Judge Larry Eisenhauer, LW’75, the 2014 Alumnus of the Year, and Guy Cook, LW’81, president of the Iowa State Bar Association, who served as the keynote speaker.
Cook is a graduate of the University of Iowa and the Drake University Law School. He has served as counsel in over 1000 litigated matters and has tried more than 200 jury trials. He has also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America publication.
Other Supreme Court Celebration events included the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law Dinner, the Drake Law Review Dinner, and the Drake Moot Court luncheon.
For a complete list of awards, visit http://www.law.drake.edu/alumni/?pageID=awardsRecognition.
For more information, contact Terri Howard at theresa.howard@drake.edu or 515-271-3985.