A Brief Introduction:
"Going into a Moot Court competition, every coach is confident. Leaving a competition, every Tulane Moot Court coach is in awe. Simply put, Tulane Moot Court teams never fail to step up their game and impress once the pressure of a student trial or appellate tournament begins. As one of two student coaches (along with Adrienne Chavez) of the 2009 Tulane ABA Criminal Trial Team I was no exception – confident going in, and honored and amazed when our team finished among the top four teams in the country.
This success is becoming a tradition, not only at Tulane as a whole, but also in this competition. In fact, Adrienne and I, along with our teammates Jay and Nikkya, had finished among the top four teams at this tournament in 2008, the first time Tulane had competed. But Tulanians never take that success for granted, and our team of Andrea Alexander, Munazza Humayun, Susan Jaffer, and Eric Steinberg worked hard so that Tulane could repeat as national semifinalists.
Of course, this year I was coaching, not competing, and that’s a horse of a different color – it’s more nerve wracking, and yet more rewarding, too. Over the course of two months of preparation, our team sometimes felt like a family, sharing late nights and small hotel rooms. So as I watched them competing and beating teams like Georgetown and South Texas in imposing federal courtrooms and in front of real judges, I wanted nothing more than to pass them notes and suggest strategies. But there was no need – our team knew exactly what to do.
Our team members had become experts in the style and substance of criminal trials. When one judge randomly threw out some key evidence, our team knew how to recreate that evidence through the use of perfectly crafted cross examination questions and some stick figure artwork on a whiteboard. On the witness stand our team members were so knowledgeable and likeable that more than one judge developed a crush on them.
In the end, this style, skill, and dedication paid off. Tulane was a national semifinalist – again. And I was yet another Tulane Moot Court coach who thought he knew his team, only to have them surpass his highest expectations."
- Brad Cousins, Class of 2009
Appellate Teams
ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition
Team Members: Aaron Helm, Veronica Lam, Tyler Maulsby
Coaches: William Gamble
Awards:
- 2009 National Quarter-finalists (Demelza Baer, Michael Flynn)
- 2008 National Quarter-finalists (Demelza Baer, Michael Flynn, Alexander Owings)
- 2008 7th Best Advocate, St. Louis Regional Competition: Michael Flynn
Philip C. Jessup International Law Appellate Competition
Team Members: Stella Cziment, Ayanna Kellar, Monica Ledermann, Taylor Reinhard
Coaches: Henry Sackler, Jason Ullman, Jacob Merkord, and Dana Zartner
Pace Environmental Law Appellate Competition
Team Members: Thomas Sharp, Joseph Briggett, Thadeus Culley
Coach: Colleen Booth
Awards:
- 2008 Quarter-finalists (Erica Rancilio, Mary Reichert, Mitchell Wildermuth)
Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Appellate Competition
Team Members: Brandon Creekbaum, Krystina Kemp, Audrey Reed
Coaches: Alex Owings and Joe Pipinich
Awards:
- 2008 Finalists (Matthew Browne, Abbott Jones, Ben Motal)
- 2008 Best Brief (Matthew Browne, Abbott Jones, Ben Motal)
Trial Teams Georgetown White Collar Criminal Competition
Team Members: Andrea Alexander, Blaise Bess, Alex Glaser, Osi Scooter Jackson
Coaches: Danielle Babashoff and Adrienne Chavez
Texas Young Lawyers’ Association National Trial Competition
Team Members: Devin Gabriel, Melissa Gimenez, Jenarae Garland, Charles Rothermel, Nicholas Socias, Lorrayne Mallot
Coach: Lindsay Spann
AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition
Team Members: Erin Knapke, Alex Glaser, Brett Gallaway, Brandon Winchester, Michael Schopf, Virginia Murphy, Nick Mercadante, Michael Renneisen
Coaches (2009-10): Danielle Babashoff, Blaise Bess, Osi Scooter Jackson
ABA Criminal Law Competition
Team Members: Nathan Prihoda, Alicia Smith, James Woltmann, Connor Hagerty
Coach: Andrea Alexander
Awards:
- 2009 Semi-finalists (Adrienne Chavez, Eric Steinberg, Brad Cousins, Munazza Humayan)
- 2009 Perfect Scores in a Round - Andrea Alexander
Louisiana State Bar Association Trial Competition
Team Members: Angad Ghai, Patrick Gibbons, David Tynan, Christopher Scott, Eric Sella, Matthew Guy, Stuart Breaux, Jennifer Sullam
Coaches: Daisy Gurdian
ADR & ARBITRATION TEAMS
American Bar Association Negotiation Competition
Team Members: Michael Shaw, Raymond Wezik, Zachary Wiley, Erica Zacharie
Coach: Ryan Bahry
ABA Mediation Competition
Team Members: Michael Shaw, Raymond Wezik, Zachary Wiley, Erica Zacharie
Coach: Ryan Bahry
Awards:
- 2007 Regional Champions (Colbert, Balsinde)
- 2006 Regional Champions (Werner, Swensek)
Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Competition
Team Members:Jason Corley, Ethan Minshull, Megan Shumaker, Evan Williams, Ashvidha Sivapalan, and Jennifer Rohrback
Coach: Jessica Marrero and Daisy Gurdian
Awards: