(from left to right) 3Ls Jason Parker and Lorin Staup; National Champions, National Energy & Sustainability Law Moot Court Competition
Driving through the snow-covered Appalachian Mountains from Pittsburgh International Airport to Morgantown, West Virginia in early March, third-year LSU Law students Jason Parker II and Lorin Staup had no idea what to expect at the National Energy and Sustainability Law Moot Court Competition.
“We weren’t even supposed to be competing there that weekend,” said Staup, explaining that their original plan to compete in another moot court competition fell through months prior. “That weekend happened to be the one that worked for both Jay and I.”
As luck would have it, that unexpected change led to a national championship.
On Saturday, March 8, Parker and Staup bested the University of Virginia Law School—along with 28 other teams—to take home the top prize and LSU Law’s second national championship win this semester.
Staup was surprised when she heard the final result.
“At the beginning of the competition I thought ‘I hope we make it to the round of 16,’ and then ‘I hope we make it to the round of eight, I’ll be so happy,’” she said, noting that this was her very first external moot court competition. “We went up against the best teams in the competition. Every time we moved on, I was in shock.”
Parker, meanwhile, already had a couple of external moot court competitions under his belt and could see the early signs that they were on the path to a national championship.
“That day I just knew we hit a stride, and it felt like we were unstoppable,” said the Vice President of External Competitions for the LSU Law Board of Advocates. “Lorin and I felt confident in our arguments, and by the final round, I knew we had won.”
This year’s competition problem involved an environmental organization’s challenges to the operation of a soon-to-close coal power plant, including claims under the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Federal district judges of West Virginia, including the Hon. Robert W. Trumble, Hon. Michael J. Aloi, and Hon. Joseph K. Reede, judged the final round of competition.
Parker and Staup credit much of their success to the help they received from team coach Danny Bosch (’20), LSU Law Professors Nick Bryner and John Devlin, and fellow law students.
“Danny taught us things even as simple as how to pronounce acronyms like an environmental or energy law expert would pronounce them,” Staup explained. “That helped us to sound confident in our arguments, which the judges noticed.’”
Ultimately, their teamwork and advocacy skills proved to be a key factor in their success.
“Our styles were different, but I think that’s what made it work really well,” said Parker. “Lorin would lay out our argument in front of the judges, and I would come in and bounce off the judges’ feedback. Lorin is one of the most proficient people I’ve ever met, and I learned so much from her in this competition.”
Along with taking home first place, they received second place for Best Brief, a trophy, and a nearly $1,100 cash prize.
But for both, the experience itself was the biggest reward.
“What I learned from being a member of the Board of Advocates and participating in internals, externals, and Trial Advocacy Week are the skills that I’m going to carry with me when I graduate,” said Staup, who will join the energy and environmental litigation group at Kean Miller this fall. “Jay was a great partner, and my external was the best experience I’ve had in law school.”
For Parker, the championship win fulfills part of a promise he made to himself a year ago when he received the Dudley DeBosier Advocacy Award.
“I remember reading that the scholarship goes to students who exhibit leadership qualities in the Advocacy Program and thinking ‘If I’m getting this scholarship, I need to not only try to succeed in these competitions but be a leader for other students as well,’” said Parker, who placed as a national semi-finalist in the Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition in 2024.
When he became Vice President of External Competitions, Parker set a goal: To help as many students as possible earn a spot “on the wall”— the LSU Law Advocacy Program’s display of past national champions and semi-finalists in the breezeway connecting the Law Center’s old and new buildings
After a particularly successful competition season, he and Staup will see their names join the ranks of LSU Law’s top advocates.
“We have several teams who are going to have signs on the wall this year,” said Parker. “Since I was always talking about ‘making it on the wall,’ I knew Lorin and I had to make it on there, too.”
