Printable version

Law School trial team wins championship, moot court team finishes strong

Contact: Jeremy Jones
(305) 899-3195



Barry Law School trial team wins national championship; finishes strong at other tournaments
Moot court team beats Harvard & Yale; finishes in top eight

Orlando, Fla. – As first time invitees, the Barry University School of Law trial team made a lasting impression Nov. 15 by becoming national champions of the Georgetown University Law Center White Collar Crime Tournament.

Taking place in Washington, D.C., Barry’s trial team faced stiff competition in an invitation-only tournament of 20 teams from across the country. Barry’s trial team consisted of Angela Agostino, Carla Matinata, Justin Chapman and Hope Rothfeld. Agostino, who had never competed as an advocate before, won one of six Best Advocate awards out of 80 advocates in the competition. To win the championship, Barry defeated LSU in the first round; Florida Coastal in the second round; and the University of Houston (last year’s champion) in the third round. Barry then advanced to the Elite Eight out of 20 teams, defeating SMU. In the final round, Barry defeated Fordham to win the championship.

This is the trial team’s third championship in prestigious competitions in less than two years, which include the 2008 ABA National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition in Chicago and the 2008 University of Puerto Rico School of Law Trial Advocacy Competition.

In other recent competitions, the trial team finished in the Elite eight out of 32 teams at the Buffalo/Niagara Trial Team Competition. The team consisted of Aileen Spiker, Kristina Sexton, Margalie Fenelus, and Amanda Sizemore (winner of Best Direct Examination during preliminary rounds). Finally, Barry’s trial team consisting of Margaret Garner (Best Advocate winner), Robert Guinn, Danielle Barbato and Andrew Nickolaou finished in the finals of the 2009
ABA Puerto Rico Trial Advocacy Competition. The team was coached by Maria Hale and Nadia Ramkissoon.

Barry’s moot court team also continues to make a name for itself. The team competed Nov. 12-14 in Jacksonville, Fla. at the Navy JAG Corps National Moot Court Competition and finished in the top eight beating out 19 other moot court teams, representing a cross-section of the highest caliber and most diverse law schools from around the country. The law school students argued in front of a prestigious bench of judges, including a sitting federal judge, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the chief judge of the Department of the Navy. The competition consisted of four full rounds and three final elimination rounds. In all, 27 judges, both civilian and military, listened to the oral arguments.

Barry’s performance at the competition surpassed that of other well-known law schools including Yale, University of Southern California, Harvard, George Washington, Georgetown and University of California Berkeley. Barry’s moot court team consisted of Rodrigo Caruco, Jacob DeLauter and Erin Cox. They were coached by Professor Pat Tolan.

“The success of our trial and moot court teams demonstrates the hard work and dedication of our students and coaches,” said Barry Law School Dean Leticia Diaz. “Our students continue to prove that they can compete and win against some of the best known and top-notch law schools in the country. We are very appreciative for the opportunity to be invited to these competitions and look forward to future successes.”