Pepperdine Caruso Law Fall 2020 Advocacy Successes

Pepperdine Caruso Law's Moot Court Team successfully competed in five virtual moot court interschool competitions:

• Emma Sholder and Joel Lopata competed in the Leroy R. Hassell, Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition on October 8-10, 2020. The team was coached by Caruso Law alumnus Adam Sherman.
• Karin Lang, Katelyn Leeviraphan, and Lindsey Kirchoff competed in the Civil Rights and Liberties (CRAL) Moot Court Competition on October 16-18, 2020. Karin Lang was recognized as the third-place outstanding oralist in the competition. The team was coached by Professor Mark Kubisch.
• Ashley Koos and Weston Whitener competed in the Billings, Exum, and Frye National Moot Court Competition on October 22-24, 2020. The team was coached by Caruso Law alumna Rebecca Ferrari.
• Joshua Upham and Zachary Carstens competed in the California Regional of the New York City Bar National Moot Court Competition on November 6-7, 2020. Josh was recognized as the second-place outstanding oralist in the competition. The team was coached by Caruso Law alumna Tori Votino.
• Danielle Nafekh and Alexander Carroll competed in the National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition on November 13-15, 2020. The team was coached by Caruso Law alumna Anna Goodman.

Pepperdine Caruso Law's Trial Team participated in the following competitions:

• Stolle Voigt, Joshua Upham, Rebecca Voth, Andreas Moghimi, and Karl Kleppe took first place for the West Coast Regional in the 2020 National All Star Bracket Challenge on October 16-18, 2020. In the national competition the following weekend, they received second place overall. The students were coached by Professor Harry Caldwell, Marcel Sincich, Amanda Pitrof, and Shannon Ward. More information about the regional results may be found here. The results of the national competition may be found here.
• Timothy LeDuc, Aaron Foltz, Allen Sepanyan, Weston Whitener, Sophie Sarchet, Aaron Foltz, Allen Sepanyan competed in the Third Annual Martin Luther King Jr. National Civil Rights Trial Competition on October 16-18, 2020. The team was coached by Professor Harry Caldwell, Terry Adamson, and Deana La Barbera.
• With a limited amount of trial competitions available this fall, two trial teams competed in the ABA Arbitration Competition on November 13-14, 2020. The first team consisted of Erin Weilbacher, Ryan Clausen, Jessica Gerber, and Marisa Martin. The second team was made up of Aaron Mojarras, Paige Waldberg, Carmen Izquierdo-Oliva, and Jonathan Zima. Professor Harry Caldwell coached both teams while Professor Maureen Weston helped the students learn negotiation skills.

Pepperdine Caruso Law students also competed in the following negotiation and mediation competitions:

• Austen Thompson, Benjamin Davies, Bryce Wallgard, and John Latson competed in the Tenth Annual National Sports Law Negotiation Competition hosted by Thomas Jefferson School of Law on October 9-11, 2020. Professor Maureen Weston was the team coach. Additional information on the competition may be found here.
• Rachel Enders and Andrew Porth participated in the International Commercial Mediation Competition hosted by Bucerius Law School, Hamburg, Germany on November 21-22, 2020. The team was coached by Professor Maureen Weston. More information on the competition may be found here.

These moot court, trial advocacy, and negotiation and mediation performances continue Pepperdine Caruso School of Law's tradition of excelling at interschool advocacy competitions.

In addition, Pepperdine Caruso Law continued to host its own annual intraschool advocacy competitions throughout the fall despite being fully online for the semester. Our students performed extremely well in the following intraschool advocacy competitions that were held virtually this year:

• The Cipolla Closing Argument Competition was hosted by the Pepperdine Caruso Law Trial Team on August 28, 2020. First place: Weston Whitener; Second place: Gabriella Castro; Third place: Karl Kleppe.
• The Armand Arabian Advocacy Tournament, which is the Pepperdine Caruso Law Moot Court Board's annual fall appellate competition, was held on October 9 and 16, 2020. Champion: Zachary Carstens; Finalist: Jonathan Maseng; Semifinalists: Noah Dewitt and David Portillo.

Congratulations to all the Pepperdine Caruso Law winners and participants for an admirable display of advocacy skills amid the formidable challenges of 2020.