TU Law Students Win Best Brief Award and Capture Third Place Overall at National Health Law Moot Court Competition

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Russell Ramzel and Kenneth Elmore, second-year students at The University of Tulsa College of Law, recently won the National Best Brief Award and captured third place overall in the National Health Law Moot Court Competition. The competition concluded Saturday, November 6, at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.

Ramzel and Elmore, who were making their first appearance at the competition, will receive a $500 award for their brief and an additional $500 award for their third place overall finish. Their nationally winning brief will be published by the American College of Legal Medicine, the co-sponsor of the competition, in a 2011 issue of the Journal of Legal Medicine.

In the oral-argument portion of the competition, Elmore and Ramzel won both of their preliminary rounds on Friday to advance to Saturday morning’s “Sweet Sixteen,” in which they defeated a team from the University of Pittsburgh. In the “Elite Eight,” they defeated a team from Chicago-Kent College of Law. In the “Final Four” on Saturday afternoon, they were defeated by Loyola University-Chicago.

TU’s team of 3L Kristin Straily and 2L Isaac Shields won in their first preliminary round of oral arguments on Friday but lost their second-round match to Marquette University Law School. The appellate brief by Straily and Shields placed among the top 15 in the competition.

During the past seven years, National Health Law Moot Court teams from The University of Tulsa College of Law have won the National Championship twice; First Runner Up twice; National Best Brief twice; and National Best Overall Oralist once. In 2005, TU won both the National Championship and First Runner Up, becoming only the second law school in the 18-year history of the National Health Law Moot Court competition to have teams from the same law school compete against each other in the final round.

TU Law Professor Marguerite Chapman, the faculty supervisor and the Director of the College’s Health Law Certificate Program, credited the success of the TU’s National Health Law Moot Court teams over the years to three factors.

“We have great students who are analytically gifted, possess an incredible work ethic, and are very self-disciplined,” Chapman said. “Then there is the ability to practice before state and federal judges, health law attorneys, former health law moot court team members, and faculty who give generously of their time. In addition, our structured program has been well honed over the years to prepare students for written and oral appellate advocacy.”

TU’s two teams were co-coached this year by U.S. Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey Wolfe and Bryan Harrington, a clerk for Judge Dana Rasure of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Harrington, a member of TU’s 2005 National Championship Health Law Moot Court team, was the primary coach for Elmore and Ramzel.

Chapman noted that she and this year’s teams and coaches are grateful to the judges, faculty, law alumni, and members of the practicing health law bar who devoted many hours serving as “practice-round judges” in preparing TU’s teams for the national competition.

In addition to Wolfe and Harrington, Chapman gave special thanks to Judges Jane Wiseman and Deborah Barnes of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals; Judge Dana Rasure of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma; Nicholas Haugen, law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Claire Eagan; Randy Lewin, staff attorney for the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals; Barbara Eden, law clerk for Judge Dana Rasure; TU College of Law Vice Dean Gary Allison; TU College of Law Professors Lyn Entzeroth, Jamie McDonald, Catherine Cullem, Karen Grundy, and Evelyn Hutchison; OSU Medical Center CEO Jan Slater; Saint Francis Health Care System corporate counsel Rodney L. Buck; Bruce McKenna and Brandon Burris of Glendening, McKenna, & Prescott; Elise Dunitz Brennan of Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson; Meredith Dibert Lindaman of Atkinson, Haskins, Nellis, Brittingham, Gladd & Carwile; Hugh Robert of Sherwood & McCormick; Caroline Zink Hott Abbott, attorney for the Mental Health Association of Tulsa; Edward Main of Secrest Hill & Butler; Mary Bundren of Bundren Law; and TU law alumni Jason and Sloane Lile.

Chapman also cited the consistent support and efficiency of Board of Advocates Vice President Stephanie Nowak in handling logistical arrangements for the national competition.

“It truly was a collaborative effort,” Chapman said. “We are fortunate to have such loyal alumni and supportive members of the bench and bar who help us prepare each year.”

Contact:
Scott Been
918-631-2568
scott-been@utulsa.edu