“Best Brief” Honor at National Moot Court Competition

By Maria Iacobo

“It’s going to go down as one of the highlights of law school.”

That’s Tina Baravarian’s assessment after several months of writing and preparing for a recent national moot court competition in New York City.

Baravarian ’11, and her partner Jenny Farrell ’11, won the best brief competition and reached the oral argument semi-finals in the 26th Annual Dean Jerome Prince Evidence Competition at Brooklyn Law School; 36 teams competed in the three-day competition.

Both women were members of last year’s Hale Moot Court Honors Program; Farrell was the co-winner of last year’s Hale Moot Court competition.  Both women enjoyed the program so much they were admitted as competitors on USC Law’s National Moot Court Team.   They were among several USC Law teams to travel to national competitions this year.

“I think we both had a good attitude going into the competition,” said Baravarian.  “We wanted to do well and represent USC, but we had a realistic attitude.  We wanted to make the best use of the opportunity.  Every time we went on to another round, we were both so calm; it felt really natural.”

The competition content concerned the constitutionality of federal rape shield laws and heresay rules of evidence.  Provided the case background in December, the two students worked independently initially, to write their brief.  A month prior to the competition, the two met several times to prepare their oral arguments.  They recruited Professors Lonergan, Lyon Pastore and Rummel to listen and provide feedback before they made the trip to New York.

“The whole moot court experience will be one of the best experiences I had in law school,” said Baravarian.  “It’s the experience through which I learned the most about law and about myself and what I’m passionate about.”

The two say they didn’t know each other well beforehand, but through their shared experience they worked well as a team and have a special memory to take with them as they prepare to graduate next month.

“Through these competitions I have realized how much I love being an oral advocate,” said Farrell.   “It’s something I enjoy and I’m passionate about.   It further cemented, for me, my decision to work in litigation.  I at least need to give working in a courtroom a shot.  This has been yet another indication for me that this is something I’m good at and a match for my skills and interest.