RWU Advocates Take Top Spot in National Admiralty Law Competition
The Sixteenth Annual John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition was held this past weekend at the historic county courthouse in Charleston, S.C. and a pair of RWU Law 3Ls walked off with the championship. Brian Eisenhower ’09 and Manford “Ben” Susman ’09 secured the win with a split decision for the oral argument portion, which – together with a decisive Best Brief award for the team – gave RWU its first championship in this national competition. The Best Brief Award was shared with team member Amanda Argentieri ’09.
The team prepared intensely, under the guidance of Maritime Law expert Bob Falvey (class of 1998), who heads Falvey Cargo Underwriting (when he is not teaching as a member of our Adjunct Faculty or coaching the Admiralty team!). Thanks also to Prof. Jonathan Gutoff for his ongoing support of the team and for serving on a final practice panel with me and Federal District Judge Ernest Torres, who grilled the students as he was finishing up his stint as Distinguished Judge in Residence.
Brian and Ben beat the University of Richmond in the semis and LSU in the finals, with Brian receiving a perfect score from the federal judges on the final panel, Judge William Wilkins (from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit) and Judge Michael Duffy (United States District Judge, D.S.C.).
The other team members – Nathaniel Spencer ’10, Craig Graham ’10, and Kathryn Petit ’09 – also helped prepare Brian and Ben in the run-up to the competition and provided valuable commentary once in Charleston. Nat and Craig learned a lot this time and plan to defend RWU’s title next year.
The competition has another RWU Law connection: it is held in memory Judge John R. Brown, who served with distinction on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for nearly four decades. Our own Louise Prof. Louise Teitz clerked for Judge Brown, one of the nation’s preeminent experts on Admiralty.
Here are some informal pics from the post-argument celebration.
RWU Law teams with Judge Wilkins at post-competition
Brian and Ben show off the Best Brief plaque
Brian with the championship trophy
