News

When: March 18-19, 2022
Where: In person at the University of Montreal and via Zoom for those opting to participate virtually.
Team Members: Madison Ranta, Charlotte Connolly, Jordan Upton, and Roisin Boyle
Coach: Ashley Hamp-Gonsalves and Roy Stewart

Congratulations to mooters Madison Ranta, Charlotte Connolly, Jordan Upton, and Roisin Boyle, who represented the Schulich School of Law at the 2022 Kawaskimhon Moot.

This year’s Kawaskimhon Moot required the participating teams to negotiate a Memorandum of Agreement with respect to the development of a hydro line in Northern Quebec. Portions of the proposed line would be constructed in lands covered by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and areas involving overlapping claims for rights by different Indigenous groups.

“The Kawaskimhon Moot requires participants to navigate a complex fact pattern and consider a myriad of legal issues in order to reach a negotiated resolution,” said coach Hamp-Gonsalves. “The teams representing the Schulich School of Law at the negotiation tables this year brought a keen understanding of the issues at play and enthusiasm for the opportunity to participate in a contested negotiation exercise.”

The Kawaskimhon Moot is a collaborative negotiation exercise where all teams walk out as winners.

When: March 4-5, 2022
Where: Virtual
Team Members: Audrey Axten and Laura Graham (Appellants), Nicole Tomasic and Zayd Khraishi (Respondents)
Coach: Professor Sara Seck & Kevin Berk

Schulich Law had a strong performance in this year's Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot. Audrey Axten and Laura Graham prepared an Appellants factum, while Nicole Tomasic and Zayd Khraishi prepared a Respondents factum. While neither team advanced to the semifinals, they did receive some well-deserved recognition. Audrey and Laura won the prize for best Appellants factum, which was well warranted given their creativity in formulating arguments that opposed the carbon tax's constitutionality while still centring the importance of climate action. Additionally, Nicole was recognized as one of six Distinguished Oralists, which again was well deserved after Nicole and Zayd had a matchup decided on a razor-thin margin against the eventual semi-finalists from the University of Ottawa. Audrey and Laura were additionally faced with the unique challenge of mooting against an exhibition team made up of associates at Willms & Shier and more than held their own.

The moot was challenging both substantively and procedurally. The participants took part in a hypothetical appeal of the Supreme Court of Canada's 2021 decision References re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. The teams were required to write a factum for either the Appellants or Respondents. Subsequently, across two preliminary rounds, the teams had to argue both from their factum and the opposite side without benefiting a factum. Furthermore, finalists were tasked with presenting their arguments before the author of the SCC's decision, Chief Justice Richard Wagner.

The moot was ultimately won by the University of Alberta, with the University of Saskatchewan finishing as the runner up.

When: March 4-5, 2022
Where: Virtual
Team Members: Victoria Douglas and Sonja Gashus (Appellants), Talal Murtaza and Sterling Edmonds (Respondents)
Coach: Melanie Petrunia

The Schulich School of Law participated in the Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot, which was held virtually with teams from across Canada. Victoria Douglas and Sonja Gashus represented the Appellant, the Crown, while Talal Murtaza and Sterling Edmonds represented the Respondent, the taxpayer.

The case under appeal this year was Agracity Ltd. v. The Queen, concerning complex issues of sham and transfer-pricing.

"The students prepared excellent factums and showed thorough knowledge of the law, composure and skill when answering difficult questions from the bench,” says coach Petrunia. "While they did not win, their submissions were excellent, and I am very proud of their efforts."

The Moot was won by the University of Manitoba.

When: March 3-4, 2022
Where: Zoom
Team Members: Nicola Hibbard and Levi Parsche (Appellants), Liam Protheroe and Chelsey Brussard (Respondents)
Coach: Erica Koresawa & Kristyn Stevens

The Schulich School of Law recently participated in the 49th Gale Cup Moot. After initially anticipating an in-person moot – with the final round to be held in the Supreme Court of Canada courtroom – the moot shifted to an online format. Nicola Hibbard, Levi Parsche, Liam Protheroe, and Chelsey Brussard represented the Schulich Law at the Gale Cup this year. Although the team did not win, all four mooters performed brilliantly.

The Gale Cup is a national moot held between all law schools in Canada on a Supreme Court of Canada case that is criminal in nature. The case this year was R. v. Javanmardi. Nicola Hibbard and Levi Parsche represented the Appellant Crown, addressing issues with both the actus reus and mens rea of unlawful act manslaughter. Liam Protheroe and Chelsey Brussard acted for the Respondent, Javanmardi, defending the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2019 decision.

“Each student impressed the judges with their knowledge of the facts and the law, facility answering tough questions, and overall presentation,” says coaches Koresawa and Stevens. “We are incredibly proud of the entire Schulich Law team!”

With 20 teams from across the country participating, first place went to Université de Montréal and second place to Osgoode Hall.

When: February 25-26, 2022
Where: Zoom
Team Members: Stephen Chew, Alysa O'Keefe, Kate Neil and Charlotte Hobson
Coach: Professor Sheila Wildeman

For the second time ever, Schulich Law participated in the Wilson Moot, which honours Bertha Wilson (’57). Stephen Chew, Alysa O'Keefe, Kate Neil and Charlotte Hobson all demonstrated excellence in advocacy and worked together brilliantly as a team. They each gave outstanding performances, but did not make it to the final round.

The Wilson Moot, which has been running since 1992, is dedicated to fostering advocacy skills and strengthening understanding of how the Charter may be used to promote justice for individuals and groups disempowered within social and legal systems. This year's problem involved a s.15 and s.7 Charter challenge to a bylaw restricting homeless encampments while offering alternative shelters said by the claimant to be riskier or more harmful to her fundamental interests than the encampments.

“Our team had many high points, including the preparation period,” said Professor Sheila Wildeman. “Among those was Chief Justice Michael Wood's sharing at our final formal practice round (with a bench that also featured NS Court of Appeal Justice Van den Eynden) that the team was collectively as strong as any team he had encountered in his time assisting with Dal's moots. Thanks to everyone who assisted in practice sessions and who otherwise supported our Wilson Moot team.” 

Of the thirteen teams that participated, first place went to Western and second place to U of Alberta.

When: February 24-26, 2022
Where: Zoom
Team Members: Julia Borges and Annalise Benoit (Appellants), Ben Foster and Mallory Gallant (Respondents)
Coach: Professor Jodi Lazare

Congratulations to the Schulich Law team, who was ranked sixth overall (out of 17 teams), with three of the mooters placing in the top 25 oralists. "While our mooters did not win any ranked awards, they delivered their best performances in front of tough panels of judges, and I am very proud of them," says Professor Lazare.

The appellants, Julia Borges and Annalise Benoit (mooting in French), faced off against UQÀM and Saskatchewan and clearly impressed their panels, which included ABQB Justice April Grosse and SKQB Justice Neil Turcotte. Respondents Ben Foster and Mallory Gallant faced Calgary and Alberta in front of panels, including ABQB Justice Shaina Leonard and Roger Bilodeau, the former Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada.

"The Laskin is hard work and this year's problem was particularly challenging, raising tough questions including third party standing for judicial review and private interest standing in proceedings under the Federal Corrections and Conditional Release Act for witnesses to a crime," says Professor Lazare. "We are very grateful to those who helped prepare the team during many practice rounds. As you all know, moots simply cannot work without faculty and community support."

The top three schools, in order of ranking, were Université de Sherbrooke, McGill University and Université d’Ottawa – common law.

When: February 24-26, 2022
Where: Zoom
Team Members: Sarah MacRitchie and Mimi Gjelaj (Appellants), Mamie McGinn and Hannah Mirsky (Respondents)
Coach: Professor Suzie Dunn

Congratulations to the Schulich Law teams who excelled in this year's Harold G. Fox Intellectual Property Moot. The Schulich Law appellant team, Sarah MacRitchie and Mimi Gjelaj, won the Harold G. Fox Cup for the best mooting team. In the final round, they were matched against the University of Ottawa team and argued in front of Supreme Court of Canada Justice Suzanne Côté, Federal Court of Appeal Justice Johanne Gauthier, Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Kathryn Feldman, Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Julie Thorburn, and Federal Court Justice Janet Fuhrer.

The Schulich Law respondent team, Mamie McGinn and Hannah Mirsky, were also very strong, with Hannah Mirsky taking home the Donald F. Sim Award for the best oral advocate. The judges in the earlier rounds were impressed with how organized, composed, and well-spoken the team was.

The Harold G. Fox Moot is intended to promote the furtherance of education in the intellectual property field and provide participants with the opportunity to interact with jurists of the Supreme, Ontario, and Federal Courts and experienced practitioners of intellectual property law. It is named in honour of the late Harold G. Fox, one of Canada’s leading intellectual property scholars and advocates.

“The team worked incredibly hard in preparing for the moot, and I’m very proud of the effort they put in,” says Professor Suzie Dunn. “Congratulations to all the mooters, and a special thank you to everyone who helped prepare this team along the way!”

When: February 18-19, 2022
Where: Virtual
Team Members: Heather Lawson, Lynn Sullivan, Grace Mangusso and Mackenzie Walker
Coach: Michael Scott, Jeremy Smith, Kathryn Piché and Brian Casey, QC

The Schulich School of Law had a successful outing at the (virtual) McKelvey Cup, despite the fact that there was a power outage during the moot causing them to relocate.

The McKelvey Cup is a trial moot in which students do a mock jury trial. Each student does a direct examination and a cross examination, and students do either an opening or a closing statement. The competition is judged by a jury which this year included Mr. Justice Reginald Leger of the New Brunswick Queen’s Bench, John Buhlman from Weir Foulds in Toronto, who is head of the national Sopinka Cup committee, and eight others. This is the 24th year of the competition, which is sponsored by Stewart McKelvey.

Heather Lawson took the award for best closing, as she and her partner Lynn Sullivan defeated a team from U de Moncton and placed 2nd overall. The Dal Crown team of Grace Mangusso and Mackenzie Walker defeated UNB.

A different UNB team, from the trial not including Dal, was selected to go on to the national competition for the Sopinka Cup.

When: Feb 11-13, 2022
Where: Virtual
Team Members: Joanna Skrajny and John Wigle
Coach: Professor Liam McHugh-Russell

On the weekend of February 13th, the Schulich School of Law participated in the 24th annual National Labour Arbitration competition, hosted by Matthews Dinsdale LLP. Dalhousie has been a participant in the competition, otherwise known as the Labour Arbitration moot, since its founding.

The Schulich Law team, composed of Joanna Skrajny and John Wigle, demonstrated creativity and curiosity in constructing their arguments both for the employer and the union side. Joanna and John's oral presentations made a significant impression on two panels of judges drawn from the practicing union and employer-side labour bar and from practicing arbitrators. They were praised for the clarity and originality of their arguments. However, they were not chosen to participate in the final round.

The moot topic covered the transformation of workplaces and production in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing reliance on precarious, unionized gig work in place of workers previously protected by bargained collective agreements.

This year's winning team was the University of Toronto.

When: Feb 7-12, 2022
Where: Virtual
Team Members: Zack Seaward, Robbie Mason, Michael Byrne and Emma Arnold
Coach: John Hope

Zack Seaward, Robbie Mason, Michael Byrne, and Emma Arnold represented Schulich Law at the Jessup Moot this year. Although the team did not win, all four mooters were excellent representatives of the law school.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world's largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries. The Canadian Division Qualifying Tournament has been hosted by a Canadian law school annually since 1973. Teams from every Canadian law school, both civil and common law, are eligible to compete. This year's case was concerning the Suthan Referendum.

In order of ranking, the top four schools were the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, Western University, and the University of Windsor. All four finalists will represent Canada at this year's international rounds of the Jessup Moot.