Kathryn Trent, Mallory Woodford, Nathan Richards, and Clayton Stansell, all 3Ls, turned in excellent performances recently at regional and national bankruptcy moot court competitions.
In the regional competition, the Cristol Kahn & Paskay Cup hosted by the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, students turned in strong performances against other teams from Emory, Florida, Miami, and Ole Miss. The pairing of Trent and Richards advanced to the semifinals, where they were edged out by the overall winning team from the University of Miami.
At the national competition, the 27th Annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition in New York City, both Law School teams were designated top 16 teams among the 59 teams competing. To reach the octo-final rounds, students advanced from three preliminary rounds. During the preliminary rounds, Trent and Richards bested teams from the University of Chicago, Baylor, and Michigan State, while Woodford and Stansell advanced against teams from St. John’s, Memphis and Suffolk. During the octo-final rounds, each pairing turned in two more solid performances against teams from Miami and Baylor.
Woodford and Stansell advanced to the quarterfinal rounds, which were held in Brooklyn at the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York. Facing a panel that included a member of the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, as well as Bankruptcy Judges from Texas and Indiana, Woodford and Stansell lost an extremely close round to the eventual overall winning team from SMU.
Trent was named Best Advocate of the competition. Woodford and Stansell received the Best Brief Award for the top brief submitted by any team.
Professor Gary Sullivan and Mark Williams (’84) coached the teams.