Update to Miami NAAC regional results

Well, as I feared, my post yesterday was indeed incorrect. As commenter John B. suggested, a second team from Oklahoma – and not WashU – was named as the fourth regional champion. The confusion apparently centered on a “missing” ballot in the round. As many of you know, the break rounds of the NAAC are determined by the team winning a majority of the ballots. If there are five judges, the team who wins three or more ballots wins the round. On the other hand, if the ballots are tied, it then goes to points (indeed, one of my own teams won its regional final this way, tying two ballots to two but winning on total points). Well, in the regional final between Oklahoma and WashU, on first tally, there were only four countable ballots (despite there being five judges in the room). On points, WashU was ahead, and was therefore declared the winner. At some point, however, a fifth ballot surfaced, which was in favor of Oklahoma. Based on the new ballot, the previous announcement was reversed.

I know the folks who run the ABA NAAC well, and I’m certain there’s a good explanation for the confusion. But man oh man, do I ever feel for WashU’s team, who experienced the joy of thinking they had secured a regional championship, only to learn 30 minutes later that a lost ballot had mysteriously surfaced to sink their chances. On a larger level, I think this further goes to show the importance of transparency in administration of competitions. I’m sure the ABA isn’t thrilled about the confusion, but I’m likewise sure they’re happy that their transparency policy allowed this to come to light and be addressed. As for what happens in this case, we’ll have to wait and see – my hope is that WashU’s second squad will be invited to Chicago as a 25th team, which I think would eliminate any questions that either WashU or Oklahoma could raise…

Advancing teams from Boston and Miami NAAC regionals (I think)

And the field of 24 is complete: This weekend was the last of the three sets of regional competitions for the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition. Two weekends ago it started with Las Vegas and San Francisco; last weekend it was Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. My Miami contact (Prof. Sander Moody at Florida Coastal School of Law) said he had heard some rumblings that perhaps the initial announcement by the competition coordinators was incorrect, but that he's likewise confident his notes reflect the four correct regional champions. So, with that caveat noted, the final eight teams to punch their tickets to the national finals in Chicago next month are:

Boston Regional:
Emory University School of Law
South Texas College of Law (2 teams)
University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law

Miami Regional:
Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
University of Oklahoma Law Center
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (2 teams)

I'm dubbing this year the "year of the Double-Double," in part because I'm an enormous fan of the In-N-Out Burger, but more so because I doubt there's ever been a year with so many schools advancing two teams. Loyola Law School Los Angleles, Seton Hall University School of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law, and now South Texas and WashU are all sending both of their teams. Pretty amazing...

I'm also very proud of my fellow Texans -- Tech and South Texas will be joined in Chicago by Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, Baylor Law School, and University of Texas School of Law. In all, 7 of the 24 national finalists (nearly 30 percent) are from Texas schools. And if you throw in our neighbor OU, you'll see why I continuously argue that Texas is one of the most competitive advocacy regions in the country -- particularly at the National Moot Court Competition, where all those schools (from Texas and Oklahoma) have to battle it out for just two spots at the national finals.

Advancing teams from Brooklyn and D.C. NAAC regionals

Last week I posted on the eight regional champions from the Las Vegas and San Francisco regionals of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition. This weekend featured the Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. regionals. Without further ado:

Brooklyn Regional:
Seton Hall University School of Law (2 teams)
Texas Tech University School of Law (2 teams)

Washington, D.C. Regional:
American University Washington College of Law
Baylor Law School
Liberty University School of Law
University of Baltimore School of Law

Advancing teams from Vegas and San Fran NAAC regionals

Ahh, it's that time of year again -- the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition is underway. This weekend featured the first two of the competition's six regional tournaments in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Next weekend will see teams compete in Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. The weekend after that the show goes to Boston and Miami.

I don't have any information on briefs or advocates (and won't until the regional rounds conclude, and even then, I won't post until after the whole shebang is over to protect the anonymity of the teams), but I do have the important info: Which teams have advanced to the national finals in Chicago in early April.

Las Vegas Regional:
Loyola Law School Los Angeles (2 teams)
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
University of Miami School of Law

San Fransisco Regional:
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
University of Texas School of Law

You may recall this post in December, where I rather half-assedly handicapped the "strength" of the four regionals based on a few different metrics. Regardless of three methods I employed, Vegas and San Fran came out as the "weakest" of the six regions, with only Chicago-Kent College of Law (Illinois Institute of Technology) and UC Hastings College of the Law as the real "powerhouse" programs in either region. Rather surprisingly though, neither school advanced a team to Chicago...

Make it three: Lewis & Clark wins again at Pace

Lewis & Clark continued to exert its dominance at the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace Law School this weekend, finishing first among a field of 84 teams. This marks the third straight Pace championship for Lewis & Clark, and its fourth since 2004. The University of Houston Law Center and University of Wyoming College of Law (which knocked out my Texas Tech team in the quarterfinals) were the two other finalists (each round consists of three teams, as the problem is three-sided).

Semifinal finishes were enjoyed by UC Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara University School of Law, University of Mississippi School of Law, University of Miami School of Law, Tulane University Law School, and UCLA School of Law.

Hastings won the overall Best Brief award, while Leah Branch of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law won Best Oralist honors.

Full results are here.

Arkansas razors Mississippi College's back

Congratulations to the University of Arkansas School of Law, which tonight won the title at the 60th annual National Moot Court Competition. Mississippi College took second place. Texas Tech University School of Law and Saint Louis University School of Law were the national semifinalists.

Seattle University School of Law claimed the Best Brief Award, while Allison Waldrip of Arkansas was named the Best Oralist.

NMCC semifinal results

Mississippi College (#1 seed) def. Texas Tech (#12 seed)
Arkansas (#6 seed) def. Saint Louis (#2 seed)

My Texas Tech team beat Mississippi College on orals, but by only one point. It wasn't enough to overcome the brief. Final round is at 8 p.m., EST. See my previous post for the webcasting address. Good luck to the finalists!