Challenged by teams from law schools at the University of BC and the University of Victoria, a team of TRU Law students won this year’s BC Law Schools’ Moot on Feb. 10.

The TRU Law team was made up of Mostafa Elfakhani (3L), Cailey Harris (3L), Greg Parth (3L), Julia Pinnock (3L), and Lisa Wong (2L). This year’s competition involved a complex appeal on two new legal issues. First, the students had to argue whether a new tort, the tort of harassment, should be recognized. Second, the students had to argue whether a government actor suing a private person for defamation should be able to obtain a permanent injunction against that person.

The winning moot team from TRU Law (left to right): Mostafa Elfakhani, Greg Parth, Julia Pinnock, Cailey Harris and Lisa Wong.

The coaches, Danielle Ching McNamee and Catharine Bisbicis, said all team members took the moot seriously. Leading up to the competition, they wrote submissions for both the appellant’s and respondent’s positions. In doing so, they improved their written advocacy by focusing on clear, point-first legal writing to advance their clients’ positions. They honed their practice management skills, such as complying with moot court rules and meeting deadlines.

Following written submissions, the team travelled to Vancouver to present oral submissions to the court. This year, the BC Law Schools’ Moot took place at the historical appellate court room in Vancouver. As usual, the moot judges were actual judges from the BC Supreme Court and the BC Court of Appeal. Each oralist had 30 minutes to present their argument to the judges. The TRU team was deemed best by the judges, and won the BC Law Schools’ Moot for the first time since 2015. Lisa Wong called the moot “a very rewarding and exhilarating experience.”

TRU Law would like to recognize those who supported the team: the law firm of Rush Ihas Hardwick LLP for sponsoring the team, CLEBC for covering travel costs and the TRU Sherman Jen Fund for financial support.