Pace Law School hosted its annual Louis V. Fasulo 1L Moot Court Competition on the weekend of March 28-29, 2015. Over 160 first year law students and over 100 Judges participated in this exciting event. The students argued the merits of a fictitious case Petrillo v. Rooks, No. 14-85FD (W.D. Ala. Nov. 17, 2014) at the fictitious Thirteenth Circuit – the subject of their 1L brief – concerning two issues:
- Whether Rev. Rooks was a servant or employee of the defendants (BMCC and Rev. Yun) acting within the scope of his employment when he persuaded Mrs. Petrillo (member of the church’s congregation) to invest in Rook’s private B&R business, or whether the defendants were negligent in hiring and supervising Rev. Rooks; and
- Whether, in any event, the litigation, adjudication, and potential award of any relief to Mrs. Petrillo would violate both the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment, and thus precluding Mrs. Petrillo from recovery.
Professors Carol Barry, Alissa Bauer, Francis Carroll, Vicky Gannon, Tamar Gribetz, Lucie Olejnikova, Cynthia Pittson, Margaret R. Smith, Diane Webster, Gail Whittemore, and Peter Widulski worked with and guided the students throughout the spring semester in writing their first appellate brief and in their preparation for their first oral argument. The students were presented with challenging questions from great and lively panels of experienced Judges and attorneys.
The comradery and the intensity of the competition provided for a stimulating weekend. After Saturday’s preliminary rounds, the top 64 students advanced to the next round and argued on Sunday. Congratulations to the top 64: Matthew Arpino, Britny Auletti, Wojciech Balakier, Thomas Baroni, Emily Bendana, Desiree Berger, Christin Brown, Monica Calderon, Angelica Cancel, Nicholas Chabert, Amelia Christian, Leonard Cohen, Samantha Colon, Brianna Ciuffi, Thomas DeGrace, Deanna DiCaprio, Regina DiOrio, Alexandra Dobles, Robyn Downing, Brian Dwyer, Michael Fortini, Christina Fuhrman, Alyssa Fulginiti, Kathleen Fulton, Michael Giannini, Yelena Gordiyenko, Tyson Lord Gray, Andrew Gruna, Ashley Hausmann, Samantha Hazen, Hannah Hollingsworth, Kristin Jung, Bryan Kelly, Haseeb Khan, Luis Leon, Michael Liik, James Logan, Wilfredo Lopez, Alexander Lowell, Nicole Maguire, Sarah Main, Michael Manchester, Craig Manolas, Michael Marchman, Christopher McClain, Jordan Montoya, Michael Moore, Joseph Moravec, Adrienne Novak, Christina Oddo Andrea Osgood, Daniela Parra, Rachel Partington, Kara Paulsen, Daniel Plaia, Melissa Reitberg, Richard Roman, Jeanine Ruggerio, Kevin Sheehan, Lisa Shiderly, Christopher Smith, Frank Smith, Benjamin Sonnenfeldt, Emily Svenson, Samantha Tooma, Shivani Trivedi, Alyse Velger, Eli Wagschal, Elizabeth Wanyo, and Kirsten Yerger.
The students argued well in the advanced rounds making it difficult for the Judges to choose the top 32. Nevertheless, the following are this year’s top 32: Christin Brown, Monica Calderon, Angelica Cancel, Briana Ciuffi, Leonard Cohen, Regina DiOrio, Robyn Downing, Michael Fortini, Alyssa Fulginiti, Yelena Gordiyenko, Tyson Lord Gray, James Logan, Wilfredo Lopez, Alexander Lowell, Nicole Maguire, Sara Main, Michael Manchester, Craig Manolas, Christopher McClain, Andrea Osgood, Kara Paulsen, Daniel Plaia, Melissa Reitberg, Richard Roman, Jeanine Ruggerio, Lisa Shiderly, Benjamin Sonnenfeldt, Shivani Trivedi, Alyse Velger, Eli Wagschal, Elizabeth Wanyo, and Kristin Yerger.
The top 32 argued very well making it challenging for the Judges to pick the top 8. However, Monica Calderon, Angelica Cancel, Tyson Lord Gray, James Logan, Wilfredo Lopez, Christopher McClain, Andrea Osgood, and Kristin Yerger rightfully earned their spot in the top 8 final round.
The final eight students did a superb job in the final round making it an exciting event for the Judges and the spectators. Kristin Yerger won the competition as Best Advocate and received a $1000 Pieper Bar Review Certificate; Tyson Lord Gray placed second receiving an $800 Pieper Bar Review Certificate; and Christopher McClain won third place receiving a $500 Pieper Bar Review Certificate.
Special Thanks to Loretta Musial, Prof. Louis V. Fasulo, the Judges, the 1L Legal Skills Professors for their work with the first year class and for coming to support the students at this event, Pieper Bar Review for donating the first, second, and third gift certificates prizes, Dean David Yassky, Chartwell Food Services for providing refreshments throughout the day, and the members of the Moot Court Honor Board, including Cassandra Castellano, CJ Croll, Bianca Francois, Arthur Miller, Catherine Peña, Andrea Rodricks, and Michael Pesin-Virovets, among others, who once again put on an excellent event.
Congratulations to Kristin Yerger, Tyson Lord Gray, Christopher McClain and James Patrick Logan on this wonderful achievement!