UK Rosenberg Law Students Place Second in Employee Benefits Competition

University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law students Jacob Ludwig and Zachary Holt placed second earlier this year in the Ellen A. (Nell) Hennessy Employee Benefits Moot Court Competition at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The team also won best brief runner-up.

Catholic Law and the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel hosted the third annual competition in which participants address cutting-edge employee benefits issues. Seven teams competed, including two from Catholic Law. Catholic Law and UK Rosenberg Law teams competed in the finals.

“We both saw it as an opportunity to get some moot experience before graduating,” said Holt, a third-year law student from Bloomfield, Kentucky.

Kathryn L. Moore, Stites and Harbison Professor of Law at UK Rosenberg Law, approached Holt and Ludwig, a third-year law student from Louisville, Kentucky, about the competition. Both students had taken Moore’s employee benefits class.

“Neither of us had done any moot before,” Holt said. “Our only real, oral argument experience was the first-year research and writing.”

Holt interned for Kolb Clare & Arnold in Louisville, Kentucky, which has a practice area in employee benefits, during the summers of his first year and second year. He has also continued to do remote work for the firm.

Holt and Ludwig were assigned the problem for the competition in December and submitted a brief in mid-January. The team started working on oral argument practice immediately after the brief was submitted. Prof. Moore, along with other professors, helped Holt and Ludwig prepare for the competition. In addition, Emeritus Professor and U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John M. Rogers assisted after Moore invited him to participate. The competition was held at Catholic University in February.

Ludwig said he decided to participate in the competition because he really enjoyed Moore’s employee benefits class and wanted to “delve deeper into the subject.”

“I think the professors are the reason so many students from UK Rosenberg College of Law were successful this year at competitions,” Ludwig said. “Our professors truly do care about giving their students the best tools and opportunities to succeed.”

By Shawntaye Hopkins
May 7, 2020