Moot Court Team wins four national championships

Four national championships in one year is a phenomenal accomplishment for any organization. In 2010, it marks a record achievement for the Florida State University College of Law Moot Court Team.

The team’s season of wins began in February with a first-place finish in the 2010 Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition, followed by the 2010 National Security Law Moot Court Competition, both at George Washington University Law School. Two more teams brought home national titles during the last weekend in February: from the Gabrielli National Family Law Competition at Albany Law School in Albany, N.Y., and the Luke Charles Moore Civil Rights Invitational at Howard University in Washington, D.C.


Team advisor Nat Stern, the John W. & Ashley E. Frost Professor, noted that while each of the four teams “did a superb job,” the “margin between winning and losing can be extremely fine” because judging is subjective and competition at the national level is so intense. He added, “The difference between a year in which we win one competition and one in which we win four competitions can be very small. This year, it came together wonderfully. Fortunately, deserving teams took first place in four different competitions.”


Steve Muscatello, a third-year student and member of one of the winning teams, compares the subjectivity of advocacy competition scoring to that of judging ice skating. Judges’ preference comes into play, whereas in some other competitive activities, more objective scoring occurs. Stern compared Florida State Law’s run of success this year to the football dynasty at Florida State University. During the dynasty, the football team was always highly competitive, but national titles could have been diverted by such small events as one missed field goal. The law school’s Moot Court Team has been highly successful and competitive for years, but this is a year of championships.


Preparation is key to the success of any championship team, and the Moot Court Team is no exception to that rule. Winning team member Ana Barton attributes much of the success to Stern, who proves to be one of the most difficult practice judges that team members face.


“Professor Stern judges at least one practice for each of the individual competitions we go to, which always promises to be the most challenging round of questioning we could possibly have. If we survive that practice, we know we are in good shape for competition,” Barton laughed.


The training the Moot Court Team has gone through this year obviously paid off. “Everything just aligned beautifully for our teams this year,” Stern said.

Championships

2010 Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition

George Washington University Law School

February 5

Members:

Ana Barton (3L)

Steve Muscatello (3L)

Coach:

Arthur Stern, III

 

2010 National Security Law Moot Court Competition

George Washington University Law School

February 13-14

Members:

Andrew Grogan (3L)

Michael Redondo (3L)

Coach:

The Honorable Bradford L. Thomas of the Florida First District Court of Appeal

Luke Charles Moore Civil Rights Invitational

Howard University

February 26-27

Members:

Yordanka Nedyalkova (3L)

Tiffany Roddenberry (2L)

Coach:

The Honorable James R. Wolf of the Florida First District Court of Appeal

Gabrielli National Family Law Competition

Albany Law School

February 26-27

Members:

Lauren Davis (2L)

Jennifer Gutai (3L)

Rebecca Swindull (2L)

Coach:

Arthur Stern, III

Under Stern observations

After nearly 20 years of managing the Moot Court Team, he has turned it into a finely tuned machine. As the team’s advisor since 1993, Professor Nat Stern is responsible for grouping students into competition teams, finding a competition for each team, and placing each small group in the capable hands of a coach or coaches.
The task may sound fairly simple, but when one considers that Stern’s team pairings must consider the interests and opinions of 30 team members, it gets more complicated. Plus, Stern helps the team develop a budget and he sits as a judge during practices for each of his 15 small teams at least once. Stern also serves as a coach to one group annually.

Still, Stern is humble about what his efforts mean to the team’s success.


“Students deserve overwhelming responsibility for their success,” the John W. & Ashley E. Frost Professor said. “We can put a structure in place with excellent coaches and match them in a rational way, but the team members’ sterling talents and efforts ultimately account for the success of the team.”


Ana Barton, a third-year student, counters, “Our Moot Court Team would not be as polished or run as smoothly as it does were it not for Professor Stern. First, he works his magic behind the scenes, not only by sorting out the assignment of team members to each competition, but also by recruiting top-notch coaches who are willing to invest long hours helping us prepare.”


Third-year student Steve Muscatello also knows Stern’s true value. “Professor Stern has cultivated within our program a culture of excellence, hard work, and pride in representing Florida State. He also provides the continuity — the institutional knowledge — necessary for a program that turns over with each graduating class. He challenges new team members to embrace and continue the tradition of success. He does this mostly through his obvious passion for written and oral advocacy — and that passion is contagious.”

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