UCalgary Law wraps up successful virtual mooting season

This year was an interesting one for UCalgary Law's Mooting & Debating program. With the onslaught of COVID-19, we saw some moot competitions cancelled. This was the case for the Davies Corporate Securities Moot and the Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot. At the same time, the online format of moots during this past academic year provided us with the opportunity to participate in some new mooting competitions, including the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot and the Vis Moot East for the first time. The decision to participate in these moots was driven by a desire to further internationalize our program and to provide students with the opportunity to engage more directly with EDI issues. Both of these moot competitions provided students with this opportunity, and the feedback from our students has been extremely positive.

Despite competing online, UCalgary Law students performed very well in their written advocacy skills this year. We garnered top awards and honourable mentions for written facta, memorials and memoranda at national and international competitions in both French and English.

Results

Jessup International Law Moot

• Mitchell Folk (2L); Candace Rissley (2L); Thomas Scholten (3L); Matthew Wong (2L); Carolee Changfoot (2L, Researcher)
• Coaches: Taylor Woolsey and Will Tran
• Team - Top Respondent Memorials, Top Overall Memorials, advanced to Global Rounds

Vis Moot East

• Sabrina Chehade (2L); Arfa Saeed (3L); Benjamin Sasges (2L); Peter Shyba (3L)
• Coaches: Julie G. Hopkins, Professor Elizabeth Whitsitt
• Team - Honorable Mention for Respondent Memorandum

Bennett Jones Cup in Health Law Advoacy

• Zoe Botting (3L); Aimee Huntington (2L); Austin Nguyen (2L); Kate Perala (2L)
• Coach: Helen Dick
• Top Oralist for UCalgary: Austin Nguyen

Laskin Moot

• Neil Burnside (3L); Niall Fink (3L); Florence Hogg (3L); Anna White (3L)
• Coach: Melissa Burkett
• Team - 1st Place Factums

Western Canada Family Law Negotiation

• Michelle Klassen (3L); Saranjit Dhindsa (2L); Sabrine Koudmani (3L); Holly Kegel (3L)
• Coaches: Jonathan Griffith and Marilyn Sudyn
• First place - Individual Negotiator: Holly Kegel
• Second place - Individual Negotiator: Michelle Klassen
• Best Representation Plan - Saranjit Shindsa & Michelle Klassen

The Michel Bastarache Moot Court Competition (French)

• Thomas Heine 3L); Rebecca Lang (3L); Catherine Duguay (3L); Neil Burnside (3L)
• Coaches: Coaches: Meagan Potier and Daniel Mills
• Best Pair - Second Place: Thomas Heine and Catherine Duguay 
• Best Litigants - Third Place: Thomas Heine
• Pierre Foucher Prize for Best Overall Team - Second Place: UCalgary Law

McGillivray Moot

• 22 teams participated (44 students in total)
• First Place Team - Selwynne Hawkins (2L) and Dantae Gagnier (2L)
• Second Place Team - Saranjit Dhindsa (2L) and Saliha Haq (1L)
• Top Oralists
  • Emma Arnold-Fyfe (1L)
  • Mirabelle Harris-Eze (1L)
  • Sylvana Crosby (1L)
  • Selwynne Hawkins (2L)
  • Dantae Gagnier (2L)

Other competitions

Western Canada Trial MacIntyre Cup Competition

• Neal Dixon (3L); Nathaniel Schmidt (3L); Connor Sprague (2L, researcher); Lubaina Baloch (2L, researcher)
• Coaches: Ben Leung, Curtis Mennie

Gale Cup Moot

• Lisa Rodriguez (3L); Bailey Nichol (2L); Connor Sprague (2L); Andrew Schnell (2L); Sam Taylor (2L, researcher)
• Coaches: Inayat Jetha, Elisa Frank

Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Circle

• Erin Anderson (3L); AJ Brown (2L); Amelia Harman (2L); Dana Poscente (3L)
• Coach: David Laidlaw

Bowman National Tax Moot

• Kara Cao (3L); Anastacia Cherniak-Kennedy (3L); Zack Kirsch (3L); Jesse Stilwell (2L); Joseph Woolley (2L)
• Coach: Erica Hennessey

Alberta Court of Appeal Moot

Criminal Team

• Erin McKlusky (2L); Stephen Hodgson (2L)
• Coach: Michael Bates

Constitutional Team

• Alireza Alimadad (2L); Heather Taskey (2L)
• Coach: Robert Moyse

Civil Team

• Jon Peters (2L); Rebecca Skinner (2L)
• Coach: Chadwick Newcombe

Julius Alexander Isaac Moot Competition

• Keshia Holloman-Dawson (2L); Shayla Klein (3L); Kevin Lee (3L)l Madyson Schmidt (2L)
• Coach: Arman Chak