UK Rosenberg College of Law and Berea College Host Their First National Series Moot Tournament Round for Undergraduates

Undergraduate students from 16 universities convened at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law on Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 20 for the Bluegrass National Series Moot Tournament, co-hosted with Berea College.

In 2022, UK Rosenberg Law and Berea College co-hosted the Bluegrass Regional Undergraduate Moot Court Tournament, a qualifier for the national tournament of the American Moot Court Association (AMCA). As a result of the tremendous success of that regional-level tournament featuring participating undergraduate teams from across the nation, the AMCA requested that UK Rosenberg Law and Berea College advance to hosting as one of the national series of tournaments leading to the crowning of the annual national champions.

The undergraduate schools represented in this year’s national series round in Lexington were University of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, University of Maryland, California State University Fullerton, California State University Long Beach, Patrick Henry College, Michigan State University, Liberty, Morehouse, University of Louisville, College of Wooster, Georgetown University, Youngstown State University, University of North Texas, Franklin College, and Saginaw Valley State University.

Attorneys and judges, including many UK Rosenberg Law alumni, volunteered to serve as “justices” for each round of the tournament. Current law students on the college’s Moot Court Board and Trial Advocacy Board also volunteered to serve as bailiffs and justices, as needed.

American Moot Court Association officials and Berea College student volunteers helped UK Rosenberg Law facilitate the tournament. Dan Huck, a Professor of Law, Ethics & Society at Berea College, served as the tournament director.

The competitions required utilizing every classroom throughout the law building, with the final round being held in the G. Chad Perry III Grand Courtroom. Anna Guzman and Emeline Wright of University of Chicago took home the first-place trophy. The runners up were University of Louisville students Caleb Aridano and Megan Crowley. The top eight teams advanced from Lexington to the final round tournament of the AMCA’s national series.

“I want to go to law school. Emeline wants to go to law school. So, it’s been really cool to experience what that will look like in the future,” Guzman said.

Wright said she had a great time during the tournament and both she and her partner were excited about competing as much as possible this year as seniors.

“I absolutely loved this competition. It was so gracious of the University of Kentucky to host,” Aridano said. “This competition requires so much hard work, but it’s so rewarding at the same time.”

Crowley agreed that the tournament was a rewarding experience.

“It’s so rewarding to see the culmination of so much hard work and effort by everyone involved,” she said following the second-place finish. “It’s also just really inspiring to see people my age who have worked really hard to reach a goal. I’m just very thankful for the opportunity to be here.”

Matthew Burton

Noah Busroe

Jamila Carter

Myles Chaney

Shawn Chapman

Angel Chapman

Laurent Cadet

Carole Christian

Autumn Clark 

Susan Clary

Carlin Conway

Harry Dadds

William Davis

Daryl Day

Madelyn Day

C. David Emerson

Tim Feld

Julia Giordano

Al Grasch

Michael Healy

Haley Harris

Jackson Hurst-Sanders

Dana Howard

Nicky Hodges

Jessica Hutchings

Faith Jackson

Nolan McWilliams

Danny Murphy

Brynne McKinsey

Conner McCourt

Daniel Martell

Kaci Loveland

Lindsey McNamee

McCoy Patrick

Jacob Patterson

Sanders Platt

Jesse Robbins

Elizabeth Roseman

Yesel Rodriguez

Marcus Roland

Morgan Sanchez 

Abby Schueler

Emily Shepherd

Bruce Singleton

Eden Stevens

Kamryn Stewart

Kassidy Stumbo

Judge Denotra Spruill-Gunther

Garrett Tice 

A.J. Vice