The team of 2Ls Nicholas Barrish and Nikolaus Merz prevailed over the team of 3L Christopher Beattie and 2L Katelin Koper in the final round of the Mackenzie Hughes LLP Edmund H. Lewis Appellate Advocacy Competition. Koper was selected Best Advocate and Beattie and Koper won Best Brief.
The final round was judged by the Hon. Frederick Scullin Jr. L’64, Senior U.S. District Judge Northern District of New York; the Hon. Andrew Baxter, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York; the Hon. Ramon Rivera L’94, Court of Claims Judge, New York State Unified Court System; John Gilsenan, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Northern District of New York; and Professor Todd Berger, Director of Advocacy Programs at the College of Law.
Sponsored by Syracuse law firm Mackenzie Hughes LLP, this competition is open to two-person teams consisting of second and third-year Syracuse Law students. The competition is named for the Hon. Edmund H. Lewis L’1909, a distinguished alumnus of Syracuse University College of Law, a partner at Mackenzie Hughes, and a Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Each year, volunteer judges evaluate the teams’ written appellate briefs as well as oral argument performance through multiple rounds.
Overall, 10 teams of two students competed. Preliminary rounds were judged by Stephanie Hyde L’89, Nicole Macris L’18 Tom Taylor ’79, L’87, Neil Smith ’02, James Zino L’14, G’14, Laura Harshbarger L’97, Edwin (Pete) Frick L’13, Dean DiPilato, John Boyd II L’16, John Cirando, Judge Gerard Neri L’90, John Gilsenan, Judge Fred Scullin L’64, Judge Ramon Rivera L’94, and Judge Andrew Baxter.
David Katz L’17, John Boyd II L’16, and Professor Richard Risman graded the briefs.
The College of Law would like to thank all the judges and evaluators.
