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LSU Law Tom Fore Phillips National Moot Court Competition team advances to national finals

LSU Law Tom Fore Phillips National Moot Court Competition team members Olivia Maynard (from left to right), Scott Wheat Jr., and Haley Grieshaber, with coach Daniel Bosch ('20) following the regional competition in Nashville on Nov. 12.

LSU Law Tom Fore Phillips National Moot Court Competition team members Olivia Maynard (from left to right), Scott Wheat Jr., and Haley Grieshaber, with team coach and LSU Law alumnus Daniel Bosch (’20) following the regional competition in Nashville on Nov. 12.

The LSU Law Tom Fore Phillips National Moot Court Competition team is headed to New York City in late January to compete for the national championship following the team’s impressive performance in the regional competition held at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville on Nov. 12.

The LSU Law team includes 2L Haley Grieshaber, 3L Olivia Maynard, and 3L Scott Wheat Jr. The team is coached by Professor John Devlin and Daniel Bosch (’20), who is an Assistant Attorney General at the Louisiana Department of Justice.

“We are excited to make nationals because we have a great team that has taken in so much from our own coaches, as well as from the faculty and practitioners who practiced with us,” said Wheat. “This competition puts teams on particularly tight schedules for learning about the body of law in general, as well as the specific arguments we have to make. I think the team this year was exceptional at pulling it all together on a short schedule. We really made great strides individually and as a team, and with the time to prepare for nationals I think we are going to do great.”

The regional competition involved all law schools in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, and the LSU Law team was the top seed coming out of the preliminary rounds.

“I’m extremely proud of Scott, Olivia, and Haley,” said Bosch. “After a dozen practices in just two weeks, more ‘Lord of the Rings’ puns than one should ever have to endure, and a lengthy travel delay, these students proved how resilient, determined, and incredibly talented they are. Coaching the Tom Fore Phillips National Moot Court Team is a wonderful experience and the highlight of fall for me. I’m so thankful that the renowned Professor John Devlin was kind enough to ask me to tag along two years ago. Each year, I learn more from the students than they do from me. This year was no exception. I’m looking forward to kicking it up a notch to prep for nationals and then take on the Big Apple with the crew! But first, these students need to take their final exams and get some rest!”

The LSU Law National Moot Court Team is named in memory of the late LSU Law alumnus Tom Fore Phillips (’52), a veteran of the National Moot Court team and former managing partner of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips. Read more about Phillips and the naming of the team.

The National Moot Court Competition is sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers. It is one of the oldest and largest moot court competitions in the United States. Every year, over 120 law schools compete in regional rounds throughout the United States, with winners advancing to final rounds at the New York City Bar Association’s headquarters.

Student competitors research and write an appellate brief in a hypothetical U.S. Supreme Court case, and then make oral arguments in that case to panels of judges. This year’s case asks the Supreme Court to consider two questions: whether a website’s use of an automated bot editor to create artificially intelligent commentary makes it a “content provider” for purposes of the Communications Decency Act; and whether a non-party with a financial interest in the dissemination of information is subject to the protections of the reporter’s shield.

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