On Wednesday, April 5 UAlberta Law celebrated another year of mooting excellence in a celebration attended by competitors, coaches, sponsors, faculty, and staff. The event, among other things, was a reminder of how far the faculty has come in becoming a major force in the national moot scene.
"Revitalizing our moot program has been a priority of my deanship," said Dean Paton in his opening remarks.
"The revitalization we've seen over the last two years has been nothing short of phenomenal. It is the direct consequence of the commitment of students, staff, faculty, coaches, and so many external supporters from the legal community who dedicate time, energy, effort, and funds to ensure that the moot program is successful."
2016-2017 was indeed a watershed year for UAlberta Law's mooters, with the faculty hosting two high-profile moot events: the MacIntyre Western Canada Trial Cup Moot (February 9 to 11) and the Canadian National Round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (March 2 to 4), which returned to the U of A for the first time in 15 years.
Thanks to the dynamic duo of Sunny Mann and Calvin Patterson and the assistance of coaches Alexandra Seaman and Donald MacCannell, the home team earned a third place showing at the MacIntyre Moot, which qualified them for a wildcard advancement to the national Sopinka Cup in Ottawa.
As for the Jessup Moot, Team Alberta was ably represented by Chelsea Flintoff, Michael Cantwell, Julie Trohimchuk, and Shaheer Meenai (with coaching by Cam Jefferies), with Cantwell being recognized as a Top 10 oralist.
In addition to celebrating the year's moot participants and supporters, Dean Paton also reaffirmed the important role played by competitive mooting at UAlberta Law.
"Mooting, whether at local, regional, or national competitions - is an important part of the law school experience," he explained.
"Our moot program prepares students through the practice of oral and written advocacy and coaching by teams of peers, faculty, and senior lawyers. Preparing for one is a lot of work, yes, but it also helps build confidence in your lawyering skills: research, advocacy, writing, communication, negotiation, and consensus building. It is also a tremendous opportunity to develop important professional attributes, to network with faculty and senior members of the bar and bench, and also to become more confident and develop your own personal legal style."
He further commended this year's participants, noting that the interest in mooting among UAlberta Law students has grown considerably in recent years.
"I'm so proud of this year's cohort of mooters. This year's Brimacombe Selection Round saw the highest number of students in five years apply to be considered for a spot on the moot teams."
Congratulations to all the moot participants of 2016-2017. You've done us proud!