Big weekend for Advocacy Programs as teams take first place, national finalist, regional finalist, and regional semifinalist titles

LSU Law’s Lefkowtiz National Trademark Law Moot Court Competition “Purple” team of Joe Heaton and Briana Falcon

LSU Law’s traveling trial advocacy teams had a big weekend in competitions throughout the United States, with one team placing first in their regionals.

LSU Law students Joe Heaton and Briana Falcon swept best brief, best oralists, and first place at the regional rounds of the Lefkowtiz National Trademark Law Moot Court Competition in Dallas. The team now advances to the national championships on March 16 in Washington, D.C. The Lefkowitz team is coached by Advocacy Fellow Anna Scardulla and Prof. Lee Ann Lockridge.

Sponsored by INTA, the International Trademark Association, the Lefkowitz Competition asks students to brief and argue a hypothetical US Supreme Court case involving important questions of trademark, unfair competition, and intellectual property law. Over 80 teams of students from law schools across the United States participate in the Lefkowitz Competition each year.

In Chicago, LSU Law’s ABA Negotiation team of students Kelsey McGill and Matthew Braquet placed in the top 20 teams in the United States at the National Finals. Nearly 200 teams from law schools across the U.S. participated in this year’s negotiation competition. The team is coached by Advocacy Fellow Anna Scardulla.

The Negotiation Competition simulates legal negotiations in which law students, acting as lawyers, negotiate a series of legal problems. The simulations consist of a common set of facts known by all participants and confidential information known only to the participants representing a particular side. All of the simulations deal with the same general topic, but the negotiation situation varies with each round and level of the competition.

LSU Law’s ABA Client Counseling “Purple” team of Kyle Townsley, Reed Kreger, and alternate Courtney Lehan placed third overall at the Houston regional rounds this weekend. The “Gold” team of Hannah Catchings and Taylor Stewart advanced to the regional semifinals of the competition. Both Client Counseling teams were coached by Prof. Jeff Brooks, with assistance from Prof. Greg Smith.

The Client Counseling competition addresses fundamental skills necessary for all successful attorneys, namely the ability to interview, counsel, and support a client through their legal issue.  Competitors conduct an initial interview with a person playing the role of the client and then address both the client’s legal and non-legal needs.  Students are called on to explain various aspects  of the attorney-client relationship, build rapport, determine client goals, and consider applicable law and options that may be available to the client.

Finally, LSU Law faced off against some of the top trial teams in the U.S. this weekend at the Houston rounds of the National Trial Competition, sponsored by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers. Team members Conrad Huber, Natalie Ebolum, alternate Christen Miller, and Scott Johnson presented three trials in a complex criminal case to panels of experienced judges and Fellows of the ACTL. The team is coached by Prof. Jeff Brooks.