IIT Chicago-Kent Selects Its National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition Team

Dustin Karrison and Alex Stephens, third-year students at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, will represent the law school in the 5th annual National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition November 15 to 16 at George Washington University Law School and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C.

Established in 2009, the National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition is the nation's premier moot court competition focusing on veterans law. The tournament is cosponsored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association, and the George Washington University Law School Moot Court Board.

The students will argue a hypothetical case, John Yossarian v. Eric K. Shineski, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. At issue is what standard of care should apply to physicians accused of medical malpractice in a veteran's claim for disability compensation under the federal veterans' benefits law and whether the Code of Federal Regulations' prohibition against compensation for disabilities arising from a failure to follow medical instructions under that law is valid.

Team member Dustin Karrison earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Illinois State University. Teammate Alex Stephens graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor's degree in political science and a minor in economics.

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. Teams in IIT Chicago-Kent's Ilana Diamond Rovner Program in Appellate Advocacy have won numerous individual student honors and 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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