Wayne Law team wins for Best Brief at national environmental competition

Wayne State University Law School's National Environmental Law Moot Court Team took home the Best Brief award at the annual Jeffrey G. Miller Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition.

Team members are third-year students Erica Shell of Birmingham and Paul Stewart of Ann Arbor and second-year student Justin Sterk of Detroit.

In addition, Shell was named Best Oralist twice, once for each time she argued, with judges remarking that they "wouldn't want to face her in court" and that she was "unflappable."

The environmental law competition, which was Thursday, Feb. 19, through Saturday, Feb. 21, at Pace Law School in White Plains, N.Y., is the largest and most prestigious in the nation.

Teams of students from 65 law schools across the country each wrote a brief for one of three parties and then argued all three sides at competition. The problem this year involved issues related to concentrated animal feeding operations, including navigability, the Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Although the briefs were written by the students alone without outside help, the team is mentored by several Wayne Law faculty members, including team coach Assistant (Clinical) Professor Nick Schroeck, director of Wayne Law's Transnational Environmental Law Clinic; Noah Hall, associate dean for student affairs; and Amy Neville, who teaches legal writing. Several recent Wayne Law alumni volunteered their time to judge the team in practice rounds, including Ken Cox, class of 2014; Nathan Dupes, class of 2011; Robert Johns, class of 2013; Stephanie Karisny, class of 2012; and Jessica Wayne, class of 2013.

Published: Wed, Mar 11, 2015