Students gain experience in Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Students Gerard Gaughan and Benjamin Novak recently represented Penn State Law as they competed in the Federal Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition, held March 16-17, in Washington, D.C.

Along with their coach, Aarish Sheikh, who participated in the competition last year, Gaughan and Novak began weekly practices in October to prepare for the competition. They submitted their brief in February and met daily to fine tune their arguments in the month leading up to the contest. They reviewed different situations to be able to adapt to the various directions the judges can take, helping them to build confidence.

“The biggest challenge is when the judges get involved and you have to think about where you’re going and how you’re going to get there, while still answering all of their questions,” said Novak.

“One of the best things I learned from this is how to think about what the judge is saying and where that’s coming from, to adapt my own argument,” said Gaughan.

In Washington, the team made it out of the first round of 40 teams to the “Round of 16,” where they were defeated by the University of Virginia, which ultimately won the entire competition. The Penn State Law team finished 12th overall.

“We’ve become drastically better advocates,” said Gaughan. “And having opposite strengths, we complemented each other well.”

The event is sponsored by the Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, and many of the judges were JAG officers. Because of the federal affiliation of the competition, the students had the opportunity to argue in real courtrooms in Washington, with the first round being held in the D.C. Superior Court, and the second round in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Both Gaughan and Novak recommend getting involved in the competition to other students, for the experience and the professional development.

“It’s a big-time commitment, but it’s a great opportunity to practice your skills as an attorney, because you’re given a problem, and you’re on your own to find a solution,” said Novak. “It’s a great way to develop yourself professionally.”