Published: April 23, 2015

The University of Colorado Law School won first place for the second year in a row at the National Telecommunications Moot Court appellate advocacy competition in Washington, D.C in February.

The national championship team from Colorado Law, Abby Harder ('16), Ethan Jeans ('15), and Cole Woodward ('16), began preparations in December with the goal to finish their brief early to allow for intense rehearsal. The team spent three weeks preparing the oral arguments, meeting weekly for 90 minutes, running through a full mock round, and two full dress rehearsals.

With an integrated approach to training future lawyers, the team was coached by Assistant Clinical Professor Blake Reid ('10) and Silicon Flatirons Fellow Bill Levis. In addition, several volunteers served as judges: Kim Laasko, corporate counsel, Vodafone U.S.; Tom Dixon, first assistant attorney General Consumer Counsel Unit, Colorado Department of Law; Bill Hunt, partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP; and Colorado Law Adjunct Professor Ken Fellman, partner, Kissinger & Fellman, P.C.

Reid noted that "the guest judges did a wonderful job simulating the types of questions that the students received in the competition and left them especially well prepared to handle unexpected detours." According to both Jeans and Woodward, this preparation helped significantly, from providing the confidence to endure a first-round bye to the final round, when Colorado Law edged out the team from Southwestern Law School. 

"We were nervous the whole time and didn't relax until it was all over," said Woodward.

The annual competition is hosted by the Moot Court Association of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, the Institute of Communications Law Studies, and the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA). 

Reid said, "I thought the biggest challenge this year was the problem itself, which centered on a very complicated issue of state-level copyright law with historical dimensions that dated back many decades."

This year's competition asked teams to consider whether authors of pre-1972 sound recordings had exclusive rights to perform their songs publically under the California Civil Code.  Reid and Jeans agreed that a particular challenge for the advocates with this type of problem was arguing "off-brief," ignoring their personal affinities for one side or the other. The final round was argued before Christopher Wright, FCBA president-elect and partner, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, and Matthew Berry, chief of staff to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai.

“The competition gave me the unique opportunity to take a case from scratch to final arguments, which allowed me to sharpen my skills at time-management in a real world setting,” Jeans said. 

“Even though competing in this manner is an enormous time commitment, it is also enormously helpful in building confidence and skills by offering great oral advocacy and writing practice,” Woodward said.

Additionally, Jeans, who also won best oral advocate, found the chance to showcase skills not easily summarized in a resume to be rewarding. "It is a chance to meet people outside the school and develop a relationship," he remarked, noting that the high-caliber judges were all volunteers invested in helping the next generation of lawyers to excel.

This is Colorado Law's third national title in the competition with wins in 2011, 2014, and 2015.

Pictured: Cole Woodward ('16), Ethan Jeans ('15), and Abby Harder ('16)