By Smitha Dante '10
Contributor

The 79th annual Lile Moot Court Competition quarterfinals were completed last week. The eight winners will proceed to the semifinal round, which will take place this coming spring.

A longstanding UVA Law tradition, the competition allows students to get a taste of appellate advocacy, as the process mimics the appellate process of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The competition begins in the fall of 2L year, with finals taking place during the spring semester of 3L year.

The first round of the competition began last fall, when the former 2L students picked up their problems and began to write briefs just as summer position interviews were getting underway. The competitors then argued in front of third-year students. Participants were judged individually on their written briefs and oral arguments, with the highest scorers advancing to the second round, which took place last spring.

Competitors who did well in the second round advanced to the quarterfinals, which take place in the fall semester of their third year. The quarterfinal round also consists of writing and oral argument components. Participants submitted briefs on a topic announced on August 30. During the writing period, the pairings and timings were not announced. The oral argument phase commenced on Monday, September 17, and continued through Thursday, September 21.

Quarterfinalists felt that this round was much harder than the earlier round.

“The level of competition was much tougher this round,” competitor Becky Mroz said. “The problem was more challenging, encompassing two substantive issues dealing with post-conviction relief. The level of judging was also more intense. The professor judges saw right through to the weak points of each side’s argument and really targeted those issues. Finally, each team faced very worthy opponents, which raised the bar in terms of what was required to move on to the next round of competition.”

On Monday night, appellants Adam Gordon and Lucien Smith competed against Benjamin Traster and Bethany Toews as appellees, with Professors Brandon Garrett, George Rutherglen, and Robert Saylor as judges. Gordon and Smith will advance to the semifinals. On Tuesday, appellants Selina Spinos and Justin Zelikovitz faced off against Becky Mroz and Michael Hollander, with judges Professors Daniel Ortiz, Rip Verkerke, and Jim Ryan. Wein and Hollander picked up the round. Appellants Timothy St. George and Gregory Ullom were paired against Joshua Ferrentino and Richard Rothblatt on Wednesday night. St. George and Ullom won the round and will advance. Thursdays pairings saw appellants Andrew George and William Bushman argue against Meghan Casey and Christopher Cahill. Casey and Cahill will advance to the semifinals.

The spring competition will see Adam Gordon and Lucian Smith face off against Becky Mroz and Michael Hollander, and Timothy St. George and Gregory Ullom paired against Meghan Casey and Christopher Cahill.

Early in the spring semester, the teams will be assigned a problem, and will be given two weeks to compose briefs on the topic. Afterwards, they will face oral arguments before a panel of federal appellate court judges. The judge panel is not yet finalized. Each team’s brief will constitute 50 percent of its score, with oral arguments comprising the remaining 50 percent.

Lile participants find the experience to be positive, and very much enjoy the competition. “The challenging nature of the competition of this round made it very satisfying in the end. It is a great feeling to work very hard to understand a difficult issue and then apply that newfound knowledge in the brief and oral arguments,” Mroz said.

St. George went so far as to describe the process as “extremely fun,” mentioning only one drawback: “The only downside about moot court is that, in the later rounds where there is head-to-head competition, you often find yourself competing against your friends. True to the spirit of UVA Law, no one, however, seems to have taken Moot Court personally.”