IIT Chicago-Kent Will Send Two Teams to the Appellate Lawyers Association’s 2013 National Moot Court Competition

Two teams from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law will compete in the 2013 National Moot Court Competition sponsored by the Appellate Lawyers Association November 1 and 2 in Chicago.

Third-year students Scott Lechowicz and Stephen Pauwels are the members of one team. The other team comprises third-year students Daisy Ayllon, Claudia Cortes and Roman Kashuba.

The students will argue a hypothetical case that raises questions regarding legal and procedural issues related to confidentiality and computer usage. The final round of the two-day competition will be held in the ceremonial courtroom of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In addition to an award for the winning team, awards will be given for the best brief and best oral advocate.

In 2011, IIT Chicago-Kent teams placed first and second in this competition and won five individual awards. The team of Daaron Kimmel '12 and Justin Hagan '12 won the overall competition and first-place award for best brief. Kimmel also won the award for best oral argument. Josiah Jenkins '12 and Whitney Friedman '12 won second place in the overall competition and the second-place award for best brief.

Teams from IIT Chicago-Kent won both the national championship and best brief awards in this tournament in 2007, 2008 and 2009. In addition, team members won the competition's best oral advocate awards in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

Team member Scott Lechowicz earned a degree in political science from DePaul. Teammate Stephen Pauwels received his bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in history from Miami University. Team member Daisy Ayllon completed her undergraduate education at Villanova University with a major in communications and minors in Spanish literature and English literature. Teammate Claudia Cortes majored in political science with minors in Spanish and sociology at Elmhurst College. Cortes earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Teammate Roman Kashuba completed his undergraduate education at Carleton College, where he majored in political science and international relations.

Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is celebrating "125 years of distinctive legal education." IIT Chicago-Kent is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. IIT Chicago-Kent's Moot Court Honor Society teams have won numerous individual student honors and local, regional and national competitions. In 2008, IIT Chicago-Kent became the first law school to win both the National Trial Competition and the National Moot Court Competition in the same year. In 2009, IIT Chicago-Kent successfully defended its championship in the National Moot Court Competition.

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