News

When: March 10-11, 2023
Where: Victoria, British Columbia
Team Members: Jonathon Frontain, Megan MacKinnon, Tom Nichini and Victoria Watson
Coach: Ashley Hamp-Gonsalves

Congratulations to mooters Jonathon Frontain, Megan MacKinnon, Tom Nichini and Victoria Watson, who represented the Schulich School of Law at the 2023 Kawaskimhon Moot.

Kawaskimhon is a nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) word that means “speaking with knowledge”. This moot is unique in that it centers Indigenous legal orders alongside federal, provincial, and international law. It is consensus-based and non-adversarial.

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

When: Feb 11-13, 2023
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Laren Bedgood and Danielle Harris
Coach: Professor Liam McHugh-Russell

On the weekend of February 11-13, the Schulich School of Law participated in the 25th annual National Labour Arbitration Competition, hosted by Matthews Dinsdale and Clarke LLP at the offices of the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Dalhousie has been a participant in the competition, since its founding.

This year’s moot was based on a set of facts at the cutting edge of the modern regulation of work and workplaces. The case raised issues about when an employer's duty to accommodate a disability arises, the implication of human rights legislation when employees are fired for severe misconduct, how labour arbitrators should deal with evidence of misconduct gathered in an unreasonable or rights-violating ways, and how the law should balance employee privacy rights and management safety concerns when it comes to regulating increasingly common workplace surveillance.

Schulich Law’s team, composed of Laren Bedgood and Danielle Harris, demonstrated creativity and curiosity in construction of their arguments for both the employer and the union sides. Their presentations made a significant impression on two panels of judges drawn from the practicing union- and employer-side labour bar and practicing arbitrators. Each received praise for the strength of their arguments and how effectively they responded to questions. The ultimate victory went to the University of Alberta.

“Every year, I am impressed at how effective mooting is as a hands-on legal education tool, and this year was no different,” says coach Liam McHugh-Russell. “Preparation is always tense, but in the end Laren and Danielle’s performance was at a professional level. I’m proud of them, and glad to play this role. Bravo to both.”

Many thanks are due to the continuing support from labour and employment lawyers from Pink Larkin and McInnes Cooper, who served as panel and offered feedback for two dry runs of the argument. A special thanks to Gus Richardson, who brought his expertise as an arbitrator to his new role as a co-coach, replacing Eric Slone who served as coach for over ten years.

When: March 3-4, 2023
Where: Ottawa, Ontario
Team Members: Emma Vossen, Jack Bennet, Sophie Pineau, Katelyn MacFadyen
Coach: Erica Koresawa and Kristyn Stevens

The Schulich School of Law participated in the 50th Gale Cup Moot on March 3-4 which was hosted for the first time in Ottawa.

This year’s case under appeal was R v LaFrance, a decision released last year by the Supreme Court of Canada. Emma Vossen and Katelyn MacFadyen represented the Respondent, Nigel LaFrance. Sophie Pineau and Jack Bennet represented the Appellant Crown.

Sophie and Jack advanced to the finals, arguing before Justice Patrice Abrioux (BCCA), Justice Julie Thorburn (ONCA), and Justice Mahmud Jamal (SCC) at the iconic Supreme Court of Canada, and placed second in the competition!

"We are incredibly proud of the entire Schulich team," says coaches Erica Koresawa and Kristyn Stevens. "They put an immense amount of time and effort into crafting compelling facts and honing persuasive oral arguments. This is a fierce competition between each law school in Canada and every member of the Schulich Law team demonstrated excellent advocacy skills."

When: March 3-4, 2023
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Eugene Wong, George Philp, Liam Gilbert-Walsh and Siraj Syed
Coach: Professor Colin Jackson

The Schulich School of Law participated in the Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot on March 3-4 in Toronto. They appeared before panels including prominent tax lawyers, judges from the Tax Court of Canada (including Dal Law alum Justice Henry Visser), and judges from the Federal Court of Appeal.

The team worked hard over the past few months grappling with the following questions; Can a mistake about the tax consequences of a transaction ground recission of that transaction? Is it unfair for the CRA to apply one interpretation of a provision to a taxpayer while simultaneously arguing for an opposing interpretation of the same provision at the Federal Court of Appeal? Can a taxpayer come to equity with clean hands if they implement something their advisors refer to as an "Evil Trust Plan"?

"Seventeen law faculties were represented, and, while we didn’t come home with any hardware, our team’s hard work paid off with an impressive mastery of the law, the facts, and the systemic implications of the decision," says coach Colin Jackson.

Many thanks to the faculty members and local practitioners who helped the team get ready for the competition.

When: February 24-25, 2023
Where: Montreal, Quebec
Team Members: Lima Nizami and Nick Peddle
Coach: Professor Nayha Acharya

We are happy to share that for the first time ever, the Schulich School of Law partook in the Canadian National Negotiation competition. This event took place in Montreal and the law school was excellently represented by Lima Nizami and Nick Peddle.

"We were honoured to represent Dalhousie Law in its inaugural appearance at the Canadian National Negotiation Competition (CNNC) hosted in Montreal at the McGill Faculty of Law this year," says Lima Nizami. "Negotiation is an essential skill for lawyers and the CNNC offered an intensive experience for us to develop negotiation expertise. We'd especially like to thank coach Professor Acharya for her dedication throughout the year in helping us prepare for the competition. We hope Dalhousie continues to send teams to the competition and are eager to see what the teams will achieve in the years to come."

This moot uniquely focuses on the skills of creative problem solving, collaboration, teamwork, collegiality, and self-reflection – skills that will make the legal profession increasingly accessible and less adversarial. The team received much praise from judges for their aptitude in all of these areas, especially in terms of their professionalism and insightful approaches to negotiation. 

"On behalf of the team, I’d like to thank everyone who served as guest judges/coaches in the preparations phase – Professors Diana Ginn, Jon Legorburu, and Dale Darling as well as Dean Cameron," says coach Nayha Acharya. "In addition, our thanks to students Anna Giddy and Jim Gavin for being volunteer negotiators during practice sessions."

The law school looks forward to continued participation in this event.

When: February 23-25, 2023
Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Team Members: Nicole Arski, Brent Campagnola, Julia Hiltz and Taline Selman
Coach: Professor Rob Currie and Sarah MacLeod

Congratulations to the Schulich Law Jessup Moot team who were this year’s big winners!

Their hard work and dedication earned them First Place in the competition (National Champions), First Place Memorials (Written Submissions), First Place Applicant Memorial (Nicole Arski and Julia Hiltz), and Third Ranked Oralist Nationally (Julia Hiltz).

“The Jessup is sometimes called ‘The Monarch of Moots’ because it has the largest international reach, and represents a tremendously difficult challenge for the students,” says coach Rob Currie. “They are faced with a hypothetical international law dispute between two fictitious states, though with issues that are ‘ripped from the headlines’ (this year’s problem featured an armed conflict and related sanctions). They spend the first four months of the school year researching and writing their written submissions, then many hours practicing for the oral rounds. The quality of advocacy at the competition is extremely high and to win the national rounds is a great achievement. I could not be more proud of them.

The team is grateful to the many practice judges who helped them get ready for the competition, including their friends in the Dalhousie University Legal Counsel office, Stewart McKelvey, Burchell Wickwire Bryson, McInnes Cooper and the Halifax office of the Judge Advocate General. They would also like to give a special thanks to Professor Saunders, Dunn and Lantz.

"I also want to single out Sarah MacLeod, Dal Jessup alum and associate at Burchell Wickwire Bryson, whom we were fortunate enough to have on board as Deputy Coach this year," says coach Robert Currie. "Sarah put a massive amount of time into helping the team – on top of her busy practice – and played a central role in their success."

This will be the first time Dal has gone to the world rounds since 2008, when the law school was the first runner-up in Canada. They are happy to be going back after a 15-year hiatus!

When: February 23-25, 2023
Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Team Members: Jenna Robertson, Leandra Bouman, Grace Bryson and Danielle Wierenga
Coach:  Manon Landry and Jeremy Ryant

This year’s Schulich Law team had an exceptional performance at the Laskin Moot where they competed against 16 other law schools.

The appellants (Jenna Robertson and Leandra Bouman) and respondents (Grace Bryson and Danielle Wierenga) participated in two regular rounds. The pairs addressed tough but fair questions from the bench with poise, including questions by The Honourable Elizabeth Walker and The Honourable Vanessa Rochester of the Federal Court.

“As a Laskin Moot alumni, I am very proud of the Dalhousie team for their ability to address tough questions with poise, and perform exceptionally by working as a team,” says coach Manon Landry.

The team made it to the finals and appeared before The Honourable Yves de Montigny of the Federal Court of Appeal, The Honourable Paul Rouleau of the Ontario Court of Appeal, and Erica Collins, Counsel to the Commissioner of Canada Elections.

Their hard work and dedication earned them Third Place in the Finals, First Place Factum, Best Oralist (Grace Bryson) and last, but certainly not least, First Place School.

“It was great fun to work with such kind and dedicated students,” says coach Jeremy Ryant. “Their work ethic, tenacity, instinct for camaraderie, and admin law nerdiness served them well!”

When: February 11-12, 2023
Where: Moncton, New Brunswick
Team Members: Danielle Bailey-Heelan, Amelia Eaton, Enniael Stair and Jennifer Reece
Coach: Jeremy Smith, Brian Casey KC and Michael Scott

We are pleased to report that the Schulich Law team had a strong showing at the McKelvey Cup in Moncton, New Brunswick.

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 McKelvey Cup is the regional competition for the Sopinka Cup.

The Dal Crown team of Danielle Bailey-Heelan and Amelia Eaton defeated the defence team from UNB and placed second overall. The Dal defence team of Enniael Stair and Jennifer Reece took on the University of Moncton in their trial and placed fourth overall.

The competition is judged by a jury which this year included John Buhlman from Weir Foulds who is head of the national Sopinka Cup committee, and seven others. This is the 22nd year of the competition, which is sponsored by Stewart McKelvey and the American College of Trial Lawyers.