Center For Excellence In Advocacy Annual Awards Ceremony
Washburn University School of Law held its Center for Excellence in Advocacy Annual Awards Banquet on Monday, April 10, 2006 at the Bradbury Thompson Center on the Washburn University campus.
The Honorable Lee A. Johnson from the Kansas Court of Appeals gave the keynote address. Judge Johnson stressed the importance of fundamentals training. Developing written and oral advocacy skills provides the attorney with a base to fall back on in unexpected situations. Practicing fundamentals can alleviate fear and shorten the learning curve. In addition, preparation, organization and presentation are important in the development of practical skills. The attorney should not confuse style with skill and must be aware that deficiencies in fundamentals cannot be replaced with style.
Moot Court Council Presentations
Michelle K. Moe, Moot Court President, reviewed the 2005-2006 competitions:
- Evan A. Evans Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition
Competitors: Matthew C. Ballard and Zachary L. Chaffee-McClure
Awards/Recognition: Tournament Champions; Best Respondent's Brief
Location: Madison, Wisconsin - J. Braxton Craven Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition
Competitors: Jessica A. Bryson, Kelly J. Kauffman, and Karen M. Quintelier
Awards/Recognition: Advanced to Quarter-Final round; 3rd Best Brief Overall; Karen Quintelier was named Best Oralist of the entire competition
Location: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill - John J. Gibbons Criminal Law Moot Court Competition
Competitors: Seth D. Hardy and Shelby J. Grau
Awards/Recognition: Runner-Up for Best Respondent's Brief
Location: Seton Hall - Regional Moot Court Competition
Competitors: Ethan S. Kaplan, Brian J. Malone, Alex B. Judd, and Michelle Moe
Awards/Recognition: Kaplan and Malone advanced to the Quarter-Final round and were recognized for writing the Runner-Up for Best Respondent's Brief
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
The Lester M. Goodell Awards
Since 1969, the Topeka law firm, Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds & Palmer, L.L.P. has sponsored the annual Lester M. Goodell Memorial Intramural Moot Court Competition. This competition is conducted in the fall of each academic year. Initially, the Goodell Award recognized the top oralist in the competition. In 1979, a second award was created to recognize the top brief writer. The name of each recipient is engraved on the Goodell trophies and plaque, which are permanently on display at Washburn Law School. The tryout competition includes a final round in which the top four oralists from the preliminary round competed for the Lester M. Goodell Best Oralist Award. The final oral argument round, held in the Robinson Courtroom was presided over by The Honorable Lee A. Johnson, The Honorable Tom Malone and The Honorable Stephen D. Hill from the Kansas Court of Appeals. In addition, Gerald Goodell, from Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds & Palmer, L.L.P. and son of Lester M. Goodell, also judged the final round.
2005-2006 Recipients of the Goodell Awards
Top Oralist: Matthew C. Ballard
Top Brief Writer: Seth D. Hardy
Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer Awards
Since 1992, the Wichita law firm of Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer, L.L.P. has sponsored a Moot Court team. The firm underwrites the expenses related to a competition and also provides scholarship awards.
The purpose of the Martin, Pringle Awards is to develop and recognize excellence in the area of appellate advocacy. Each recipient's name is engraved on a plaque which is permanently on display at the law school.
2005-2006 Recipients: Matthew C. Ballard, Zachary L. Chaffee-McClure
John K. Kleinheksel Prize For Excellence in Oral Advocacy
This endowed prize fund has been established through a gift to the Washburn Law School Foundation from John K. Kleinheksel. The prize is divided among the members of the Moot Court team members who achieve the highest final ranking in an interschool competition.
2005-2006 Recipients: Matthew C. Ballard, Zachary L. Chaffee-McClure
2005-2006 Faculty Brief Award
The Faculty Brief Award is presented each year to team members who author the best intermural competition brief. The Moot Court Faculty Committee chose from among briefs written by Washburn Moot Court interscholastic competition teams.
2005-2006 Recipients: Matthew C. Ballard, Zachary L. Chaffee McClure
Trial Advocacy Awards
Max Rowinsky Award for Outstanding Student
This award honors the late Max Rowinsky, a noted trial lawyer who practiced in the Shawnee and Johnson County Public Defenders Offices. The award is presented to the outstanding student in the current year's Trial Advocacy class.
2005-2006 Recipient: Bradley D. Martin
The American Board of Trial Advocates Award
The ABOTA Award honors Dick Sangster, a 1955 graduate of Washburn University School of Law. Mr. Sangster served on the national board of the American Board of Trial Advocates. The award is presented to a second year law student in the current year's Trial Advocacy class who shows outstanding promise as a trial attorney.
2005-2006 Recipients: Jessica G. Bourquin, Linda Eng
American College of Trial Lawyers Award
The ACTL award goes to a member of the Washburn Trial Advocacy team for an outstanding performance in an interschool Trial Advocacy competition.
2005-2006 Recipient: Jeffrey M. King
The Order of Barristers Award
The Order of Barristers is a national honorary organization whose purpose is the encouragement of oral advocacy and brief writing skills through effective law school oral advocacy programs. The Order seeks to improve these skills through interscholastic sharing of ideas, information, and resources. The Order also provides national recognition for individuals who have excelled in advocacy and service at their respective school.
The Order originated in 1965 at the University of Texas School of Law. It became a national organization in 1970. Washburn School of Law is a charter member of The Order. Schools having charters in The Order include those nationally recognized for outstanding moot court programs.
An individual selected to The Order receives the highest honor a law student can attain for distinction in oral advocacy. Since 1973, this honor has been one of the few law school achievements recognized by Martindale-Hubbell in its biography of lawyers.
2006 Inductees: Jessica A. Bryson, Anthony T. Hunter, Ethan S. Kaplan, Jeffrey M. King, Brian Joseph Malone, Michelle Kristine Moe, Roy W. Mozingo II
Other Recognition
Client Counseling Competition
Second place in Final Championship Round of ABA/LSD Client Counseling Competition, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma: Jason R. Covington, Reese H. Hays.
Negotiation Competition
Recognition of members by Benoit Swinnen.
Anthony T. Hunter was recognized as Student Director of The Center for Excellence in Advocacy.
James E. Orth and Lindsey D. Patmon were recognized as organizers and coordinators of the Regional Texas Young Lawyers Association Regional Trial Competition at Washburn University School of Law, February 9-11, 2006.
Special Recognition
Professor Nathan B. Webb was recognized for his contributions and dedication to the Center for Excellence in Advocacy over the past two years.
Nathan B. Webb has been engaged exclusively in criminal appellate litigation. He has written in excess of one hundred and twenty-five appellate briefs and argued roughly sixty cases in the Kansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Webb came to Washburn Law from the Kansas Appellate Defender Office, to establish a clinical curriculum in criminal appellate advocacy. In collaboration with the Kansas Appellate Defender Office, he taught "Criminal Appeals Advocacy," a course with a clinical component where students represented criminal defendants in appeals pending in the Kansas appellate courts.
In addition to his teaching, Webb volunteered his time to coach four different Moot Court competition teams. Webb devoted countless hours to help prepare the teams for competition, and his hard work and dedication is highly appreciated. This is Professor Webb's final year at Washburn Law School as he is relocating with his wife, Sanna, to Ohio. The entire Center for Excellence in Advocacy wishes them both the best of luck.
