Celebrating student success

This spring semester, students were acknowledged for their legal scholarship, advocacy skills, and unwavering dedication to public service. These students have distinguished themselves through their contributions to the profession and the academy.

Federalist Society

The Federalist Society received the Alexander Hamilton Award for the Most Improved Chapter by the National Federalist Society. This award is given annually at the Federalist Society National Student Symposium hosted at Harvard Law. The award recognizes the chapter that has made significant progress in terms of their events calendar, attendance at Federalist conferences, membership growth, regional leadership, and creative advertising. The award is named after Alexander Hamilton, who was an illegitimate child in the Caribbean but who became a successful lawyer, a co-author of The Federalist Papers, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. The Most Improved Chapter award is designed to appreciate the chapters that have used hard work and creativity to build on modest foundations, just like Alexander Hamilton did. Sophia Bavaro 24L, the outgoing President of Emory’s organization, received this award with the incoming president, Adelena Nini 25L.

Intellectual Property Society

Emory Law placed as one of the five 2024 National Patent Application Drafting Competition regional finalists. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with the support of several collegiate law school programs and the USPTO’s regional offices, hosted five virtual regional rounds of the NPADC on March 9. Five regional finalists from 58 teams competed at the national competition at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The competition provides law students and students studying patent law the opportunity to develop patent prosecution skills by applying legal principles to a hypothetical invention scenario.

Mock Trial Team

Emory’s Mock Trial Society has won multiple awards at recent competitions, solidifying their reputation as a force with which to be reckoned on the national stage.

The Summit Cup National Tournament at Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver: Semi-Finalist

Team Members:Monica Hess 24L, Melanie Magwood 24L, Nikki Hurtado 24L, and Karian Chard 24L. 

Only schools with several championship wins under their belt are invited to participate in this tournament, and this year, an all-3L team was selected to compete. The Emory Law team consisted of Karian Chard and Monica Hess (defense) and Nikki Hurtado and Melanie Magwood (plaintiff). The team beat out some of the best teams in the country and were named semifinalists. They also received several tens for their performance as advocates and plaintiff’s counsel achieved a perfect ballot in the semifinal round. The team was coached by Liz Markowitz 90L and Justin Norman.

TYLA National Trial Competition Region VI at Stetson Law: Semi-Finalist

Team Members:Nikki Hurtado 24L, Monica Hess 24L, and Karian Chard 24L. The 3L team consisted of Karian Chard (prosecution), Monica Hess (prosecution/defense) and Nikki Hurtado 24L (defense). The team beat out some of the best teams in the country and, out of 25 teams, was named semi-finalists. Defense went 6-0 in preliminary rounds.

John L. Costello National Criminal Law Mock Trial Competition National Championship: Winner

Team Members:Martin Berg 24L and Jordan Mahan 24L

This is the second year in a row that Emory Law has won this prestigious competition. These teams were coached by Zach North and Will Fowler 19L for all three competitions.

Trials and Tribulations Mock Trial Competition at University of South Carolina School of Law: Quarter-Finalists

Team Members:David Alden 24L, Aryssa Mansfield 25L, Jordan Mahan 24L, and Martin Berg 24L

This was a unique competition that featured three parties: one plaintiff and two defendants. The team consisted of Alden (plaintiff/defendant 1), Mansfield (plaintiff), Mahan (defendant 1 and 2), and Berg (defendant 2), witnesses Jackson Downs 25L and Micah Jones 26L, and coaches Rhani Lott Choi 10L and Jerry Mason. Alden won Outstanding Advocate.

Moot Court Society

Congratulations to competitors Claudia Cornelison 24L, Dean Mattschull 24L, Katelyn Hunt 24L, and Christopher Katrakis 24L and coaches Cory Conley 24L and Rachel Hendrix 24L for placing in the top 16 teams in the world at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition during the international rounds in Washington, DC. The team advanced to international competition after winning the US Eastern National rounds in February. This year’s Jessup began with 642 teams from 85 countries, and of those 642, only 150 teams qualified to compete at the international rounds. Individual recognition is due to 3L competitors Katelyn Hunt, who finished as Jessup’s Top Oralist in the world, and Christopher Katrakis, who was the 8th Best Oralist. Together, the two of them also won the Best Overall Respondent Side award.

Also, 2L competitors Claudia Cornelison and Dean Mattschull remained undefeated across their national and international Jessup rounds. And lastly, this year’s success would not have been possible without the dedicated support of 3L coaches Conley and Hendrix.

Jennifer Romig, professor of practice and moot court advisor shared her excitement on being an advisor for 10 years. “One of our students has been recognized as the Top Oral Advocate in the world. Graduating 3L Katelyn Hunt received this special recognition at the Jessup International Rounds this past weekend. Other members of our Jessup team received many other superlatives including Best Respondent Side and overall Top 16 team — again, in the world. Their achievement is just remarkable!”

Pro Bono

Amanda Shaheen 24L was named to the Association of American Law Schools’s (AALS) 2023 Pro Bono Honor Roll. The AALS Pro Bono Honor Roll is an annual honor roll that acknowledges and highlights the exceptional work of individuals engaging in, expanding, and/or supporting their law school community in providing pro bono legal services. For the purposes of this award, pro bono is defined as work that is primarily legal in nature, supervised by a licensed attorney (for law students), not for pay or academic credit, and of service to underserved individuals, groups, or those with barriers to access to justice. The Honor Roll recognizes up to one faculty member, one staff member, and one law student per member school.