USC Team advances to semi-finals at national moot court competition
Quick thinking and intense preparation propelled Jackson Trugman ’13 and Derek Kigongo ’13 to the semi-finals of the George Washington University Religious Freedom National Moot Court competition. The duo placed in the top four out of over 30 law schools in the two-day national competition held earlier this month. Professors Rebecca Lonergan, Nomi Stoltzenberg, and Elizabeth Carroll coached the students beforehand.
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| Jackson Trugman '13 and Derek Kigongo '13 |
“The practice arguments help them not only become familiar with the intricacies of the substantive legal questions involved in each competition, but also help them to develop a confident, professional demeanor,” Professor Lonergan explained.
The competition required students to complete written briefs and oral arguments as they argued whether or not the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act was constitutional. Each round required quick thinking and intense preparation.
“The better you are doing in a round, the more the judges try to test your knowledge with difficult questions and hypotheticals,” Kigongo said.
Moving from the preliminary to quarterfinals to semi-final round was no easy feat.
“The competition cases are designed so each side is able to get about 49% of the way there--You have to be creative to make the final step to win the case,” Trugman explained.
Adding to the challenge: the USC Gould team was up against some of the nation’s brightest law students and evaluated by field experts.
“By the semi-final rounds we were judged by attorneys who were very involved in lobbying for and against the mandate, including the former general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services and the director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief,” Kigongo said.
This wasn’t the first time Trugman and Kigongo collaborated together: both participated in the Hale Moot Court Honors Program as 2Ls and are now members of the National Moot Court Team.
Trugman received his undergraduate degree from George Washington University, and hopes to pursue litigation upon graduating from law school. While at USC Gould, he has been involved with the Post-Conviction Justice Project and serves as Chair of the Hale Moot Court Honors Program.
Kigongo spent the past year as a television production legal affairs intern at NBC Universal. He is also a member of the Government Law Organization, the Entertainment Law Society, a Peer Mentor, and the former co-president of the Black Law Students Association. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Both agree that the skills they developed in the moot court program helped them succeed in the competition.
“[It] has been an incredible learning experience...I have become a better listener, clearer thinker, and more articulate speaker as a direct result of the program,” Trugman said.
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