Celebrating a year of exceptional oral advocacy at WashU Law!
Jessup US West Regional – 3Ls Mina Nur Basmac, Sophia Crain, Nareh Derhartounian, Victor Allison, and 2L Nish Shetty pictured with team coach is the Hon. Gilbert C. Sison, United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Illinois.
Jessup World Cup Rounds, Washington, D.C. – the team competed in the World Cup Rounds in Washington, D.C. from March 30 to April 6, 2025, in Washington D.C. This was the 8th time in the last 10 years and 18th time overall that the team has qualified to compete in the World Cup Rounds. The team finished in the top 25 out of more than 150 teams in Total Raw Points. Mina Nur Basmaci also won 13th best oralist out of more than 500 competitors.
National Appellate Advocacy Competition – Congratulations to 3Ls Trevor Allen, Mariel Brunman, Matthew Dena, Olivia Guidry, Aleece Hanson, and Lawson Sadler for their outstanding performance at the 2025 National Appellate Advocacy Competition! All six students were recognized as Regional Finalists, and Guidry and Allen were recognized as the fourth- and seventh-ranked advocates out of nearly 70 advocates in the regional competition. Dena, Guidry, and Hanson were also awarded for having the Best Brief in the regional competition. The team was coached by Prof. Rich Finneran, JD ’08, Sasha Riediesser, JD ’18, and Mark Zoole, JD ’88.
Spong Moot Court Tournament – The Washington University National Moot Court Team was highly successful at the Spong Moot Court Tournament at William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. One subteam, consisting of Washington University second-year law students Sarah Tyler, Mary Hogsett, and Sealy Sikes, won second place overall and argued before nine judges in the final round of competition. Tyler was named Best Oralist in the competition. Washington University’s other subteam, consisting of law students Zachary Irovando, Matthew Palmer, and Nathan Zou, also advanced to the late stages of the competition. The team is coached by Cort VanOstran, JD ‘14, Christopher Collum, JD ‘21, and Rich Finneran, JD ’08
INTA Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition Dallas Regional – Cathy Vo, Cassidy Mandelbaum, and Divya Rajagopalan won first place in the regional competition and advanced to the national competition in Washington, D.C., and while they didi not take home the championship, they represented the school with great skills and professionalism. Meanwhile, another team of Jinyuan Ren, Elizabeth Dowdell, and Eric Kubo earned the Best Brief award for their outstanding writing.
Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition – 3Ls Kyle Lorey, Kaitlyn Salyer, and Rachel Sharma and 2Ls Christopher Murphy, Alex Pigeon, and Perri Wilson turned in an exceptional performance in the Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition. Salyer, Murphy, and Pigeon were recognized as being the Best Oral Advocacy Team and advanced to the semifinal round of the competition. Salyer was also recognized as being the fifth-ranked advocate out of more than 70 competitors. The team was coached by Prof. Rich Finneran, JD ’08, Giles Howard, JD ’14, Madeline Derango, JD ’24, and admiralty practitioner Rich McNelley.
Buffalo-Niagara Trial Competition – During the 2024-25 academic year the national trial team consisting of 3L Mackenzie Palmer, 2Ls Alexandra Pigeon, Christopher Babineaux, and Cameron Willis continued to be a highly competitive team. They finished in the final four of the Buffalo-Niagara Trial Competition, the largest invitation competition in the country. Mackenzie Palmer was awarded Best Direct Examination. The team also finished in the semifinals of both the regional round of the National Trial Competition and the Student Trial Advocacy Competition regionals.
Congratulations to all of the participants!
