Moot Court Board Ranks #3 in U.S.
Michelle Valencia, 05-01-2023
The Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board finished as the third-best moot court team in the country and #1 in Florida this past academic year, as ranked by the Blakely Advocacy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center which annually ranks all teams. Last year, the team finished 17th in the nation and came in as 21st in 2021.
"With this ranking, we have outranked all Florida schools, both private and public, and all the schools in the East Coast," said Farah Barquero, director of law reviews, who also manages the moot court board.
This past year, Miami Law experienced success in multiple competitions. Students distinguished themselves with outstanding competition results at the national level, including winning the John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Competition.
Additionally, Miami Law students won the Best Brief Award, Best Oralist, and Second-Best Brief Award at the Hunton Andrews Kurth, Evan A. Evans, and NYU Immigration Law moot competitions and were runners-up in the 28th Burton D. Wechsler National First Amendment Moot Court Competition held in Washington, D.C. They also won Best Brief and finished as semifinalists and quarterfinalists in the Duberstein National Bankruptcy, Uvaldo Herrera, Seigenthaler-Sutherland Cup, and Robert Wagner competitions.
This Year's Accomplishments Highlights
- Seven best oralist awards
- Four best brief awards
- Four quarterfinals
- Five semi-finals
- Two finals
- One win
- Awards and recognition at 13 competitions
- 2,138 pro bono hours logged from moot court members
"It was an honor and a privilege to lead this stellar group of advocates throughout this year," said Bailey Beauchamp, president of the moot court board. "Watching each member grow as an advocate was an incredible experience that I am very grateful for. I am so proud of every single member of the board. These successes and achievements are a direct result of the hard work and determination of our members."
Alumni Coaches Help Guide Teams
One unique aspect of the Papy Moot Court Board is the support of Miami Law's alumni, who coach current law student competitors.
"We have the great fortune that the majority of our coaches are alumni, and they are vital to our team's success because as former moot court members they know the time, effort, and dedication that it takes to be successful in competitions, and they also know what strategies work and which don't at the respective competitions they coach each year," said Barquero.
Susan Fleischner Kornspan, J.D. '90, has served as chair of the moot court alumni advisory board since 2013.
"It was an honor to coach the national championship moot court team this year, which contributed to this amazing third place ranking, but this accomplishment was not one year in the making," said Kornspan. "We must extend our gratitude to all of our moot court board members, coaches, alumni, faculty, administrators, practitioners, and judges who have mentored and trained our students for years and share in this hard-earned and well-deserved success."
Miami Law's moot court organizations also include the International Moot Court, the only one of its kind in the U.S., which allows students to compete in moot competitions around the world. They also had a successful year, which included winning the North American round of the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition which contributed to the top ranking.
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