Chicago-Kent names 2016 Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Regional Competition teams

The law school will defend its 2015 regional championship

Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech will send two teams to the 2016 Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition's Midwest regional tournament March 11 to 13 in Chicago.

Third-year students Patrick Grimaldi and Micah Hensley will compete on one of Chicago-Kent's two teams. Grimaldi was a member of the Chicago-Kent team that won the 2015 Midwest regional tournament. The other team will comprise second-year students Dan Gjorgiev and Maitry Patel.

Both teams are coached by Chicago-Kent alumnus Jeffrey J. Mikrut '10, with help from Professor Mickie Piatt, deputy director of the law school's Program in Intellectual Property Law.

Sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the competition focuses on patent and intellectual property law issues. Winners from five regional competitions will advance to the national finals April 13 to 15 in Washington, D.C.

The competition is named for the late Giles Sutherland Rich, who served as a judge on the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (1956 to 1982) and on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (1982 to 1999). Judge Rich's judicial opinions include some of the most groundbreaking, influential and controversial in modern U.S. patent law.

Chicago-Kent currently offers a J.D. certificate program in intellectual property law and in 2002 became the first American law school to offer a one-year LL.M. degree in international intellectual property law. U.S. News & World Report currently ranks Chicago Kent's Program in Intellectual Property Law seventh in the nation.

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