I want to pass along my thanks to De Paul Law School, the Lawyer’s Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, Patty Gerstenblith, and all the folks who worked hard to put on a super competition last weekend in Chicago. The Appellate problem was a very difficult argument, which really let all the advocates shine. It involved a Nazi-era claim, and the attempts by a claimant to overcome the Federal Immunity from Seizure Act to sue for damages while the painting was on temporary exhibition in the United States.
I’m especially proud of the South Texas team of Judith Westmoreland, Christopheer McKinney, and Jessica Kasischke who earned the runner up best brief award, and were also runners up in the finals, after arguing against a very impressive team from Chicago-Kent. I also want to congratulate the other team from South Texas, Omar Chawdhary, Brian Evans, and Lera Grabarnik who competed hard at the competition.
I have a lot of fun coaching the teams, as it allows me to channel my inner basketball coach. The competition also does a super job of highlighting cultural heritage law, and introducing these issues to a new group of students every year. Many thanks to all the teams and organizers for a super competition.
UPDATE:
I’ve tracked down the results of the competition, which are:
Best Brief: Team O – Chicago Kent School of Law
Best Brief Runner Up: Team A – South Texas College of Law
Best Oralist: Jennifer Bloom, John Marshall Law School
Best Oralist Runner Up: Bryan Bienias, Chicago Kent School of Law
Competition Runner Up: Team A – South Texas College of Law (Chris
McKinney, Judith Westmoreland, Jessica Kasischke)
Competition Champion: Team E – Chicago Kent School of Law (Caitlyn
Jones, Bryan Bienias, Stephen Gardner
Congratulations again to all the teams.
