KNOXVILLE — Proving that its students are among the best in the country, a UT Knoxville College of Law moot court team placed second in the nation in the 61st annual Moot Court Competition at the New York City Bar Association last week.
The student team, consisting of Amy Rao Mohan, G. William Perry and J. David Watkins, was coached by Professors Joseph Cook and John Sobieski.
Mohan also was runner-up as Best Oralist in the four-day competition that included 28 teams from 14 regions across the country.
“We have great students, a very committed and involved faculty and a terrific moot court program at the UT College of Law,” said Dean Douglas A. Blaze. “This achievement represents what can happen when all those things intersect. We are all very proud of Professors Cook and Sobieski and the team members for the hard work they all put into this competition.”
Tennessee qualified for the national finals by placing first in the Region VII National Moot Court Competition held last November at University of Memphis.
The Texas Tech School of Law was the national winner.
This year the competition presented two issues not yet decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The first issue relates to deciding a motion for a preliminary injunction. The second issue relates to whether a specific municipal health care ordinance is preempted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
The final argument of the competition is the culmination of more than six months of preparation and arguments by more than 179 teams from more than 124 law schools competing at the regional and national levels in every geographical area of the country.
The competition is sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers, a national organization of approximately 5,700 of the leading advocates in the United States, and the New York City Young Lawyers Committee.
C O N T A C T :
Kristi Hintz, (865-974-3993, khintz@utk.edu)