Regent University’s School of Law Triumphs In Moot Court Competitions

This weekend proved to be another successful turn for Regent University School of Law’s moot court competition teams both in the United States and abroad.

“In an already great year for Regent’s moot court program, this was a great weekend. At each of the competitions our students attended, they achieved top awards in brief writing, as oralists and as a team,” said Jeffrey Brauch, dean of the School of Law. “I’m excited for the students, as God has honored their hard work and dedication. I couldn’t be more excited for them; it’s amazing what they’ve done.”

Regent’s team won first place at the Touro Law Center’s National Moot Court Competition in Law & Religion in New York. Wesley Pilon, Tiffany Bennett and Michael Pierce were coached by assistant law professor Tessa Dysart.

“It’s always great to see the students’ hard work pay off with a competition victory,” said Dysart. “They did a great job.”

Across the pond at the Price International Moot Court Competition in Oxford, England, Regent argued against other teams from Singapore, Georgia, China, Pakistan and India. The team – Jessica Krentz, Lindsey Brower and Carly Havens, coached by law professor Michael Hernandez – continued into the international round after their success at the regional competition in New York City in February 2015.

Not only did Regent’s team place within the top eight of the final round, the competitors also took home the “Best Memorials” (written brief) award. Krentz was awarded second-best oralist in the competition, while Brower was named 10th-best oralist.

“It was incredible to meet teams from across the world; it was such a high-caliber competition,” said Krentz. “I’m humbled and grateful for Regent’s support of our team throughout this whole competition. Competing in New York at regionals and Oxford at internationals have been undoubtedly the best experiences I’ve had in law school.

Regent’s moot court team also placed exceptionally well at the Elon Law’s moot court competition in Greensboro, North Carolina, losing by just .16 out of 100 points in the semi-final round to the team that won the competition.

Palmer Hurst, James Wheeler and Bruce Wilson earned their way into the semi-finals of the competition. Wilson won best oralist for the entire competition, and the team received the best petitioner brief award.

The team was coached by Josh Jenkins ’13 (Law), a criminal defense attorney at his own practice: OneSight Legal Solutions. Jenkins worked with the team preparing for the competition – he said that he would not be the same attorney he is today were it not for the invaluable lessons he learned as a competitor and the former chairman of the moot court board for Regent.

“It’s a program that’s just outstanding in teaching people practical legal skills; I learned a lot that I use in practice every day,” said Jenkins. “It’s nostalgic and exciting, and I like to see their passion about what they’re doing. The quality of advocacy that comes out of Regent is exceptional.”

Learn more about Regent University’s School of Law.