Practicing Law

UAlbany Students Take Part in Moot Court at Albany Law School

After the competition: Back row, from left: Students Paul Capuano and Yong Jun Lee with attorney Serena Joyce-White-Lake, Judge Richard Rivera and Judge Christina Ryba. In front: students Carlyanne Cicero and Ashley Molina. (Photos by Jacob Griswold)

Carlyanne Cicero presents her arguments to the panel during the moot court competition.

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 15, 2018) — Fifteen UAlbany students presented legal arguments on behalf of their clients last month as part of the Fourth Annual Theodore T. Jones Undergraduate Intercultural Moot Court Competition at Albany Law School.

The event was named for New York Court of Appeals Judge Theodore Jones, who served on New York’s highest court, to honor his dedication to diversity-related initiatives. The case focused on issues around enforcement of a surrogacy contract and the surrogate’s claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Albany Law School Associate Dean Rosemary Queenan spent the spring semester preparing the UAlbany students for the competition in her Moot Court class. The class had previously been taught by UAlbany Professor James Acker, who is currently on sabbatical. Members of the Albany Law School Moot Court Program assisted in organizing the competition and helped to prepare the students for the competition.

“It was a pleasure working with these students at the University at Albany this semester,” Queenan said. “They worked incredibly hard to prepare for this competition and they should all be proud of their performances. Many of them are interested in attending law school and I commend them for taking the opportunity to participate in a competition that exposed them to the role of an attorney as an appellate advocate. I hope they will all pursue a career in the law.”

The winners of the competition, Carlyanne Cicero and Ashley Molina, as well as finalists and Yong Jun Lee, presented arguments in the law school’s moot courtroom before Judge Richard Rivera, Judge Christina Ryba and Serene Joyce White-Lake, a Central Legal Research Staff Clerk in the New York Court of Appeals when Judge Jones served as an associate judge.

Several other competitors were recognized for their outstanding oral advocacy skills during the first two preliminary rounds of the competition: Paul Capuano – best oral advocate; Amelia Reuter – second best oral advocate; and Gabrielle Weir – third best oral advocate.

The Theodore Jones Competition is part of a collaborative moot court project developed by Albany Law and UAlbany as part of their affiliation.

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