L&C Wins National Animal Law Competition!

Lewis & Clark students dominated the 9th Annual National Animal Law Competitions this past weekend at UCLA Law School! The team of Andrew Erickson (2L) and Maggie Hall (2L) bested Yale in the semi-finals to get to the final round, and then beat out a very tough University of Chicago team to claim the top prize in the appellate moot court component of the competition. Maggie Hall also claimed the top prize for best overall oralist of the competition! We learned from the judges later that she earned an unprecedented perfect score from at least three judges during the course of the competition. In the closing argument component of the competition, both Lora Dunn (2L) and Jaclyn Leeds (2L) beat out an equally tough field to get into the final round, with Jaclyn coming out on top as the champion! This is the first time both Lewis & Clark competitors made it into the finals. Also doing outstanding work and representing the school beautifully were Kathryn Walter (3L) and Aurelia Erickson (3L) (appellate moot court), and Nick Stack (3L) (legislative drafting and lobbying). The students benefited from the time and efforts of superb coaches. Professors Kathy Hessler and Aliza Kaplan coached the appellate moot court teams; alumni Jake Bush coached the closing argument competitors with assistance from Professor Hessler; and Mark Cushing coached the competitors in the legislative drafting and lobbying competition. In addition, numerous Lewis & Clark professors and staff judged practice rounds throughout the several weeks leading up to the competition. That investment of time was critical to the students’ success and educational experience.