LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge (from left to right), Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice William J. Crain (’86), McKenzie Connelly, Foster Willie, and Louisiana Department of Justice Assistant Solicitor General Morgan Brungard following the final round of the 2023 Dean’s Cup Moot Court Competition at LSU Law on March 27.
McKenzie Connelly took home the coveted Dean’s Cup crystal trophy on Monday, March 27, after besting fellow second-year law student Foster Willie during the final round of the 2023 Dean’s Cup Moot Court Competition, which was held in the Robinson Courtroom at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
“I am so grateful for the Board of Advocates, the Law Center, LSU Law alumni, and our esteemed judges in the final and preceding rounds who made this experience such an immeasurable growth opportunity,” said Connelly. “Winning was just the icing on the cake for an experience in which I grew by leaps and bounds as an advocate. I am very excited to continue advancing the skills I learned through participation in the Dean’s Cup next year as a member of the Board of Advocates and into my career.”
Connelly and Willie presented their oral arguments before a distinguished panel of judges that included Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice William J. Crain (’86), Louisiana Department of Justice Assistant Solicitor General Morgan Brungard, and LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge.
The Dean’s Cup Moot Court Competition is the last of six internal advocacy competitions held at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center throughout the academic year. Students competing for the Dean’s Cup prepare and present appellate oral arguments in a series of real cases that are currently before the United States Supreme Court. They use the real briefs prepared by the lawyers in those cases to get ready for oral argument. The case they must argue changes in each round of the Dean’s Cup, meaning Connelly and Willie had already argued their way through a gauntlet of some of the most challenging cases currently before the nation’s highest court before the final round of competition.
In this year’s final round, finalists Connelly and Willie presented oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, which asked the Court to decide whether YouTube and Google are covered by an immunity statute in lawsuits dealing with terrorism-related content that users post and host on their servers.
At the conclusion of the final round, LSU Law Advocacy Programs announced the newly selected members of the 2023-2024 Board of Advocates.
