Moot Court Teams Excel in National Tournaments
Lewis & Clark Law School teams had a banner moot court season, making it to the semifinals in two national competitions and heading to the international rounds in another.
Rachel Briggs ’18, Kathryn Roberts ’17, and Amy Saack ’17 participated in the 2017 National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace Law School in February. Coached by Professor Craig Johnston, the Lewis & Clark team knocked out Vermont Law School and the University of New Mexico in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal round for the 12th consecutive year. Roberts, returning for her second year on the team, tied for second best oralist out of more than 170 advocates. Lewis & Clark lost in the semifinal round to Columbia Law School, which went on to win the national title. Lewis & Clark has won the competition seven times.
Dayna Jones ’18 and Corin La Pointe-Aitchison ’17 made it to the “final four” round of the National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA) moot court competition. The tournament, held in March at the University of California at Los Angeles, featured 64 teams from 30 schools. Anna Jones ’18 and Nicholas Sanchez ’18 also competed on behalf of Lewis & Clark. Carrie Coppock Lobdell ’01 and Mary Bodine ’09 coached the teams.
In the world’s largest moot court event, the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, Lewis & Clark advanced to the White & Case International Rounds for the second year in a row. The team of Douglas Hageman ’17, Kelsey Peddie ’18, Matt Small ’18, Natascha Smith ’17, and Julie Sugano ’17, coached by Dagmar Butte ’91 and Spencer Wilson ’15, missed advancing out of the preliminary rounds by the very narrowest of margins when they lost to perennial top-four finisher Singapore. In the regional competition, Hageman, Smith, and Small were named sixth, eighth, and eleventh best oralists, respectively.
