News

When: January 9-10, 2025
Where: Online, hosted virtually
Team Members: Hannah Arsenault-Gallant, Ann Nightingale, and Emma Peckham
Coach: Professor Sara Seck

Congratulations to the Schulich School of Law team on a strong showing at the North American Regional Rounds of the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition, hosted virtually from January 9-10, 2025.

The Stetson International Environmental Law Moot is the foremost international moot which focuses exclusively on global environmental challenges such as conservation, sustainability, and climate change. The students are tasked with mooting before a simulated panel of the International Court of Justice which is made up of a combination of members, esteemed judges, and practitioners.

The problem for this year’s moot concerned questions relating to subsistence use and trophy hunting and raised questions under the Convention on Migratory Species, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, WTO appellate body jurisprudence, and Indigenous rights under UNDRIP, ILO 169 and the CESCR.    

Unlike most moots, students were required to argue both sides of the fact scenario. Schulich Law students Hannah Arsenault-Gallant, Ann Nightingale, and Emma Peckham enthusiastically took on this challenge and performed commendably.  

The University of Chicago was ultimately named the winning team and will compete in the international rounds at Florida's Stetson University Faculty of Law in April.

When: January 29-February 1, 2025
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Nicole Basran, Joshua Langston, and Chantal Peng
Coaches: Professor Maria Dugas, Brandon Rolle, and Lee Seshagiri

Congratulations to the Schulich School of Law team on their showing at the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot in Toronto on January 29-February 1, 2025.

The Isaac Moot is named after Julius Alexander Isaac, the first Black judge to sit on the Federal Court of Canada. It was established by the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada and focuses on areas of law in which equity, diversity, and racism issues arise, often incorporating elements of critical race theory (CRT) into the problem.  

This year's problem addressed the legal test for racial profiling from a critical race perspective. The Schulich Law team of Nicole Basran, Joshua Langston, and Chantal Peng submitted a thoughtful and compelling factum, proposing a novel test for racial profiling aimed at addressing systemic racism and the mass incarceration of racialized groups. They represented the law school with integrity and professionalism, earning high praise from the judges and opposing counsel throughout the competition.  

Despite impressive performances in the preliminary rounds, including navigating a very ‘hot bench’, they did not advance to the final. Basran was presented with the Spirit of the Moot Award for her exceptional advocacy and commitment to CRT.

“I am proud of this team – as a CRT scholar, their coach, and an African Nova Scotian,” says coach Maria Dugas. “I am particularly impressed by the collegiality and support they showed each other throughout the entire moot process. They encouraged each other, lifted each other up, and were committed to understanding and raising compelling arguments rooted in CRT.”

A special thanks to Professors Steve Coughlan and Melisa Marsman who served as guest judges, and to coaches Brandon Rolle and Lee Seshagiri for the support and guidance they showed the students.

When: January 31-February 2, 2025
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Mina Ali, Isabella Harris, and Kaley Kennedy
Coaches: Professor Liam McHugh-Russell and Gus Richardson

The 27th National Labour Arbitration Competition, hosted by Mathews Dinsdale and Clarke LLP, took place from January 31-February 2 at the offices of the Ontario Labour Relations Board in Toronto.

The moot requires teams to participate in two rounds of mock arbitration, arguing once for both the union and the employer sides.

The scenario grounding this year’s moot concerned the dismissal of a teacher with strong religious views and touched on a variety of issues, including the regulation of speech by employers, the protection of equality in the workplace, and the relevance of procedural standards in collective agreements to the adjudication of substantive worker rights. It also required engagement with the Supreme Court’s recent guidance in York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario about how the Charter should be applied to the interpretation of collective agreements in public workplaces such as schools.

Schulich Law students Mina Ali and Isabella Harris put in a superlative performance. Their presentations made a significant impression on both the judges drawn from the union- and employer-side labour bar and practicing arbitrators, as well as members of the audience. Although it was close, they were not chosen to participate in the final round, and the competition victory went to the University of Alberta’s team.

A special thanks to student Kaley Kennedy, who put significant work into helping the team prepare but was unable to participate in the moot, and for the continuing support of labour and employment lawyers from Pink Larkin, who watched a run through of the union-side argument and provided invaluable feedback.

When: February 14-15, 2025
Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Team Members: David Cruz, Adrienne Graham, Leily Farman-Farmaian, and Aleida Whidden
Coaches: Brian Casey, KC, Kathryn Piché and Jeremy Smith

Congratulations to Schulich Law students David Cruz and Aleida Whidden who were named the winners of the 26^th McKelvey Cup after defeating the team from the University of New Brunswick in the final.

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, as well as a jury address. The competition is then judged by that jury, which this year included Madame Justice Cindy Bourgeois of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal and trial lawyers from throughout Nova Scotia.

Coached by Brian Casey, KC, Kathryn Piché, and Jeremy Smith, Schulich Law sent two teams to this year’s competition; its Crown team of Adrienne Graham and Leily Farman-Farmaian competed against the defence team from Université de Moncton while Schulich Law’s defence team of Cruz and Whidden took on the University of New Brunswick. Cruz also earned the James E. Lockyer Award for Best Overall Advocate.

“David and Aleida did an outstanding job presenting the defence in their case,” says Casey. “The judges shared that they were impressed with the students’ skills and very much enjoyed watching them perform.”

The McKelvey Cup is the regional competition for the Sopinka Cup. Cruz and Whidden will go on to represent Atlantic Canada in Ottawa at the national moot in March.

When: February 21-22, 2025
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Isaac Cain, Katherine Silins, Liam Sherlock, and Juliet Watts
Coach: Brendan Peters

The Schulich School of Law continued its streak of excellence at this year’s Harold G. Fox Intellectual Property (IP) Moot with outstanding performances by Isaac Cain and Juliet Watts, who represented the appellants, and Katherine Silins and Liam Sherlock for the respondent.

The 17^th annual Harold G. Fox IP Moot problem focused on issues of copyright and moral rights in a painting, engaging traditionally under-litigated provisions of the Copyright Act.

Cain and Watts advanced to the final round, delivering submissions before a distinguished panel of judges, including the Honourable Justice Malcolm Rowe of the Supreme Court of Canada. They skillfully fielded questions from the bench and secured the hard-fought runner-up position for Best Mooting Team in addition to their honourable mention for their work on the appellants’ factum.

Silins and Sherlock won the Gordon F. Henderson Award for Best Respondent Factum, an incredible achievement given the centrality of written advocacy to modern appellate litigation. From comments made by practice judges to feedback by preliminary round panelists, the strength of this factum was emphasized and celebrated throughout the course of the moot.

“I am so incredibly proud of how this team took agency over the subject matter as well as the preparation schedule. They approached this file like true litigators, making great efforts to budget their time, energy, and resources to get the job done in the most effective way possible,” says coach Brendan Peters. “It has been said many times by many seasoned litigators over the past several months, but it bears repeating: this team has a very bright future in litigation.”

When: February 20-22, 2025
Where: Ottawa, Ontario
Team Members: Alexandra Doane, David Dorian, Asia Murphy, and Mira Stephenson
Coaches: Sarah Douglas and Sarah MacLeod

The Canadian rounds of the 2025 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition were held in Ottawa from February 20-22 and hosted by the Canadian Council on International Law. The competition featured a hypothetical public international law case between two countries that had various legal disputes.

Applicants Alexandra Doane and Asia Murphy mooted against students from three other law schools, while David Dorian and Mira Stephenson did the same as respondents. All four demonstrated terrific written and oral advocacy skills and received many comments on the high quality of their advocacy from the judges they faced and the coaches from opposing teams, many of whom are international law practitioners or scholars.

While they did not advance to the final rounds, they did win prizes for Third Place Applicant Memorials and Fifth Place Memorials overall.

"We are so proud of the team’s showing at this year’s Jessup Moot. They demonstrated stellar teamwork and resilience, as well as exceptional skills in advocacy,” says coaches Sarah Douglas and Sarah MacLeod. “We wish them the biggest congratulations on this accomplishment as they set out on their legal careers.”

The team would like to thank the many practice judges who donated their time in the weeks leading up to the competition: Schulich Law and Jessup Moot alumni Bruce MacGregor, Jennie Pick, Taline Salsmen, Julia Hiltz, Alex Eddy, Caleb MacDonald, and Victoria Bryce; Professors Rob Currie, Aldo Chircop, and Sara Seck; and their friends from Stewart McKelvey, Boyne Clarke, Burchell Wickwire Bryson, and the Halifax office of the Judge Advocate General. A special thanks to Elizabeth Sanford and Professors Phillip Saunders and Jodi Lazare, who also provided invaluable assistance to the team.
 

When: February 28-March 1, 2025
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Alison Balcom, Patricia Doiron, Beck Traversa, and Matthew Williams
Coach: Professor Colin Jackson

Congratulations to the Schulich School of Law team on an impressive showing at the Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot at the Federal Courts Building in Toronto from February 28-March 1.

This year’s moot problem was an appeal of the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Glencore Canada (2024 FCA 3) about the tax treatment of two fees received as part of a failed merger bid.

Schulich Law students Beck Traversa and Matthew Williams, represented the appellant corporation, while Alison Balcom and Patricia Doiron, represented the Crown. They had the opportunity to moot in front of Tax Court of Canada and Federal Court of Appeal judges Perry Derksen, David Graham, John Sorensen, Siobhan Monaghan, and David Stratas. They performed extremely well but ultimately, the team from the University of Calgary was named the winner.

“I’m delighted with the hard work our team put in and grateful to my colleagues from the local tax bar who were so helpful in the team’s preparation,” says coach Colin Jackson.

A sincere thanks to President Kim Brooks, retired Tax Court Justice Steven D’Arcy, and many members of the local tax bar for their help along the way, as well as the family and friends who made the trip to Toronto, and the faculty for its support of this excellent, formative experience.

When: February 28-March 1, 2025
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Team Members: Alex Harrison, Kayla Jackman, Gavin Jolly, and Anu Sidhu
Coaches: Erica Koresawa and Kristyn Stevens

The Gale Cup Moot is Canada’s premier bilingual law school mooting competition. Each year, a Supreme Court of Canada case is mooted to the Gale Cup Moot Court, composed of sitting and retired judges. The 52^nd Gale Cup Moot took place in Toronto from February 28-March 1, 2025.

This year, 19 law schools mooted the case of R v Bykovets at the Ontario Court of Justice. This case was particularly challenging as the facts themselves were technically complex in addition to the legal issues at play.  

Schulich Law students Alex Harrison and Gavin Jolly represented the Appellant Crown and mooted before Justice Knickle (Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador), Justice Gage (Ontario Court of Justice and veteran Gale Cup Moot judge), and Justice Verner (Superior Court of Ontario).

Kayla Jackman and Anu Sidhu represented the Appellant and mooted before Justice Mainella (Manitoba Court of Appeal), Justice Woodley (Ontario Court of Justice), and Justice Chapman (Ontario Court of Justice).  

The University of British Columbia took home first place in the moot and while the Schulich Law teams did not advance to the finals, Jackman and Sidhu were awarded the prize for Best (Anglophone) Team Not Advancing to Finals. This is the third consecutive year the law school has ranked in the top five in the Gale Cup.

“A lot of unseen work goes into preparation for this moot – research, writing, and constant edits of the factum in the fall ahead of a series of practice moots in front of criminal law practitioners in the winter, ending with a practice moot with the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal,” says coaches Erica Koresawa and Kristyn Stevens. “The judges consistently say that the level of advocacy at the Gale Cup is always of the highest calibre, and the performances of our students show they are amongst the country’s brightest. We are very proud of the 2025 team!”

A special thanks to the practice judges for their time and feedback, especially Justice Van den Eynden, Justice Beaton, and Justice Gogan.