Two Teams From The Massachusetts School Of Law Compete In The American Constitution Society National Moot Court Competition.

Tania Palumbo and Kathleen Mulligan
Win Best Brief In The Eastern Region.

On March 29 and 30, two teams from the Massachusetts School of Law competed for the first time in the sponsored by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS).  Benjamin Simanski, of Greenfield, Massachusetts, and Ian Ryan, of Dennis, Massachusetts, manned one of the teams.  Kathleen Mulligan, of Lowell, Massachusetts, and Tania Palumbo, of Worcester, Massachusetts comprised the other.

MSL’s coaches for the two teams were Professors Peter Malaguti, Connie Rudnick and Andy Starkis.  Professors Malaguti and Starkis accompanied the teams to the Eastern regional competition at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

The MSL teams competed against thirty other teams in the regional competition, which included participants from Columbia Law School (which sent four teams), Georgetown University Law School, the University of Chicago Law School, New York University Law School, the University of Colorado Law School, and Boston University Law School. 

In moot court competitions teams write appellate briefs of approximately thirty pages and make appellate arguments before three-judge panels, which grill the students on their positions and constantly interrupt their presentations with probing questions.  This year’s problem involved the constitutionality of a state scheme regulating the conduct of judicial candidates during the election process.  It raised difficult First Amendment issues, as well as knotty questions about separation of power, federalism and public policy.

Both teams were highly competitive, with one just missing a berth in the quarter finals.  During the first day of competition, Palumbo and Mulligan beat a very good NYU team, while Simanski and Ryan lost a very close match to Colorado, who eventually won the Eastern title.  Palumbo and Mulligan earned the distinction of best petitioner’s brief in the entire Eastern Region, quite an accomplishment considering the competition from Ivy League and other prestigious law schools.

Of his teams’ efforts, Professor Malaguti remarked, “I’m very proud of both MSL teams.  I knew going in that all four students were talented, but so was their competition.  What made our students so impressive was their work ethic, attention to detail, and genuine desire to improve.  We learned a lot at the competition, and will come back even stronger next year.  It was especially heartening to witness MSL students compete successfully against law students who will some day work in nationally-recognized law firms and prestigious government agencies.  I’ve come to realize that our students can do anything they dedicate themselves to.”  

This year, the MSL chapter of the ACS has begun a tradition of competing in the Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition.  With all four of its participants eligible to compete again, the chapter hopes to send at least one additional team next year.