Fraser Genuis (L) and Jonathon Austin (R) pose with the Sopinka Cup on March 11.
In the span of two days, University of Alberta Faculty of Law mooters Jonathon Austin and Fraser Genuis not only won the Sopinka Trial Cup - a first for the U of A - but also took in Question Period, toured parliament, and had a private tour of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) where they got to meet Justice Cromwell. Before returning home to Edmonton Sopinka Cup in hand, Jon and Fraser had met five of the nine SCC justices.
Fraser and Jon finished second at the regional Western Canada Trial Cup Moot at the beginning of February in order to qualify for the Sopinka Cup finals in Ottawa. Together with their coaches Alexandra Seaman of Dawson Duckett Shaigec & Garcia and Donald MacCannell of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Jon and Fraser spent the past few weeks working tirelessly to hone their trial skills in preparation for the finals. The team competed on the afternoon of March 11 against an exceptional team from Osgoode Hall.
After their victory, the UAlberta team attended a reception at the SCC with Justices Côté, Moldaver and Brown, where they had the opportunity to visit further with Justice Brown. Coach Alexandra Seaman took both torts and civil procedure at the University of Alberta with Justice Brown. The awards banquet - attended by Justice Karakatsanis - took place on Saturday evening at the Chateau Laurier.
The moot team and their coaches would like to thank the many members of the Edmonton legal community for their support throughout recent weeks; more than 30 lawyers, students-at-law, and law students volunteered their time to assist with practices over the last three months as witnesses and judges. Justice Clackson, Judge Henderson, Judge Richardson, Judge Dixon, and Judge Stevens all volunteered as guest judges and their feedback played a huge role in shaping Fraser and Jon into persuasive advocates.
Also worthy of mention is that, in addition to their own moot preparation, Fraser and Jon have been helping first-year students prepare for their own moots.
"The passion Jon and Fraser bring to mooting is an inspiration to our 1Ls and I am delighted to see them enjoy their well-earned success," said Stella Varvis, Director, Legal Research and Writing Program, and Coordinator, Competitive Moot Program.
The University of Alberta Faculty of Law would also like to extend its deepest appreciation to Ms. Seaman and Mr. MacCannell, who brought their enthusiasm and experience to help our students achieve this pinnacle of trial moot success.
Congratulations, Fraser and Jonathon!