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Advocacy Program Achieves Team and Individual Success at Regional and National Competitions

This academic year, the College of Law’s Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society (AHS) advocacy teams frequently advanced to the semi-final round, or better, in more than a dozen regional and national competitions held in-person and virtually. Several students were also recognized for their advocacy skills.

“This academic year was one of the most successful in terms of team and individual accomplishments,’ says Professor Todd Berger, Director of Advocacy Programs at the College of Law. “I am proud of our students who tirelessly prepare for the competitions and continually deliver at the biggest advocacy events against the best students from other law schools.”

AHS hosts five intercollegiate competitions and six intracollegiate competitions throughout the year. In addition, the College of Law offers the only joint J.D./LL.M. in Advocacy and Litigation along with numerous academic offerings and skills-based courses that prepare graduates to be ready for the courtroom. The program is supported by a select group of Advocacy Fellows, experts with many years of experience in advocacy and litigation, who coach many of the competition teams.

“I also want to acknowledge the coaches who prepare and encourage our students, spending countless hours helping the teams be amazing advocates. We couldn’t achieve these results without them,” says Berger.

The College of Law is ranked #8 in Trial Advocacy in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Fall Competitions

The College of Law team of 2L Haethyr Johnson, 3L Ethan Leonard, 3L Megan Qualters, 2L Skylar Swart, and 3L Lu Weierbach reached the semifinals of the Quinnipiac Criminal Justice Competition. The team was coached by Peter Hakes and Carly Zakaria L’24. 

At the Buffalo-Niagara Trial Competition, 3L George Saad won best cross-examination. George’s cross-examination was deemed the best of the 96 cross-examinations during the competition’s preliminary rounds. The team of JDinteractive students finished fifth overall in the 24-team competition. In addition to Saad, the team members were 2L Dannah Henderson, 2L Lisa Musto, 3L Tania Rivera Bullard, 3L Kaylee Searcy, and 3L Taylor Shawver. The team was coached by Tyler Jefferies L’21. 

Syracuse Law reached the semifinals of the National Civil Trial Competition. The team of 3L Gary Loope, 3L Charlotte McKeon, 2LJonathan Newsome, and 2L Tatiana Whitehorn was coached by Andrew Umanzor L’24 and Joanne Van Dyke L’87.

At the Judge Paul Joseph Kelly, Jr. Invitational Trial Competition, the College of Law reached the semifinals and 2L Jade Argueta won the award for Best Closing Argument. The team of Argueta, 2L Grace Hoffman, and 3L John Rutecki was coached by Gabrielle Groman L’23, Jimmy Lawler L’23, and Joanne Van Dyke L’87

2L Allison Carlos was selected as the National Trial League MVP (Best Advocate). The National Trial League is a College of Law-hosted bi-weekly virtual competition with fast-paced head-to-head trials in a sports league format. The National Trial League features some of the most competitive trial advocacy programs in the country.

Spring Competitions

The College of Law’s Black Law Student Association team finished in third place at the Northeast Regional of the Constance Baker Motely Mock Trial Competition, held by the National Black Law Student Association. The team of 3L Dachie Belony, 3L James Cameron III, 3L Suzan Elzawahry, and 3L Tatiana Vaz was coached by John F. Boyd II L’16 and William M.X. Wolfe L’20. Under the guidance of Boyd, the team has advanced to the national round of the competition in eight out of the last nine years. 

AHS hosted a regional round of the National Trial Competition with 21 teams competing. This involved securing 122 evaluators and filling 156 witness positions. Hosting the competition was a success, owing in large part to the herculean efforts of Joanne Van Dyke L’ 87, 3L Katie Raumann, 3L Jacob Samoray, Vicki Donella, and many AHS students who played the role of witnesses and bailiffs. In addition, the teams of 3L John Rutecki and 2L Jade Argueta and 3L Gary Loope and 3L Charlotte McKeon reached the semifinals, with Loope and McKeon advancing to nationals. The teams were coached by Gabriella Groman L’23, Peter Hakes, and Joanne Van Dyke L’87. 

The AHStrial team advanced to the national round of the American Association of Justice (AAJ) Trial Competition. AAJ is one of the largest trial competitions in the country and the College of Law’s region is one of the most competitive. The team consisted of 3L Brandon Bryant, 2L Allison Carlos, 2L Jonathan Newsome, and 2L Matt Reimann. The team was coached by Andrew Umanzor L’24 and Joanne Van Dyke L’87.

The AHS trial team also reached the finals of the Trials and Tribulations Trial Competition, one of the most competitive invite-only competitions in the country. It is also one of the most unique competitions because it features a third-party defendant. 3L Katie Raumann won the competition’s Best Advocate Award.  The team members were 3L Garrison Funk, 2L Haethyr Johnson, 3L Terrence Kane, 2L Greg Patrick, 3L Megan Qualters, and Raumann. The team was coached by Peter Hakes, Jeff Leibo L’03, and Carly Zakaria L’24.

Professor Gregory Germain Discusses Luigi Mangione’s Not Guilty Plea

Professor Gregory Germain recently spoke with The Guardian about Luigi Mangione’s plea of not guilty in his murder case.

Germain previously told the Guardian that nearly all recent federal death penalty cases took place during Trump’s first term.

Germain said he believed that Trump’s justice department would not agree to a deal in which Mangione pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence.

“He has political reasons, wanting to seem ‘tough on crime’ by supporting the death penalty,” Germain said.

Professor Shubha Ghosh Discusses FTC Suing Uber One and Enforcement of Subscription Services

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh recently spoke with CNET for the story “FTC Sues Over Uber One, Saying It ‘Deceived Consumers’.” At issue are customers who sign up for free trials but are charged for services after the subscription is canceled.

“Very likely there will be more suits as the FTC, across administrations, seeks to address anticompetitive practices that harm consumers, especially practices that raise prices and limit consumer choices,” Ghosh told CNET. “Ticketmaster is one example. We may see actions against crypto and payday loans online.”

But don’t expect rewards from these FTC lawsuits if you feel you were taken advantage of by a subscription-based service. For customers, it’s not the same as a class action suit in which plaintiffs may get money from court-designated damages, Ghosh said.

“The FTC cannot recover restitution for consumers after the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in [a 2021 case involving] AMG Management,” he said. “The FTC can change business practices, however, through injunctive relief under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The FTC can also obtain refunds for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the (Better Online Ticket Sales) Act.”

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks Reflects on the “LA Eight” Palestinian Immigration Case

Professor of Law Emeritus William C. Banks was interviewed by the Chronicle of Higher Education on his involvement as a legal expert in the “LA Eight” Palestinian immigration case from the 1980s. The article compares that case with the current immigration case of Mahmoud Khalil.

The key difference between the immigration crackdown in the 1980s and today, Banks said in an interview, is that Trump-administration officials “simply aren’t playing by the rules” when it comes to giving activists their due process.

Professor Katherine Macfarlane Discusses ADA Discrimination Case with Law360

Professor Katherine Macfarlane, Director of the Disability Law and Policy Program, spoke with Law360 for the article “3 Takeaways After ADA Suit Over High Heels Cleared For Trial”.

The case revolves around a disability discrimination lawsuit by a fired cocktail waitress who’d asked to wear comfortable black shoes to work instead of the required high heels.

One takeaway was to keep essential job functions gender-neutral when possible. Macfarlane said it depends on the job, and how the employer defines what it considers an essential function.

“With a cheerleading uniform, you could say that you want to have everyone in the same thing, you want to be able to maximize what is most attractive,” she said, in an example of an all-woman professional cheer squad. “But we’re far afield from that … this is a job where people are supposed to be able to deliver drinks quickly.”

In fact, Macfarlane continued, she might argue that high heels could be a liability in a work environment that depends on speed and carrying heavy trays of food or drink.

The idea that the black high heels are an essential function of the work of cocktail servers at this company “should have been interrogated,” she said.

Another takeaway was that granting an accommodation may be the easiest solution, even as the ADA doesn’t actually require workers to produce a doctor’s note at all — let alone produce a note containing specific prescriptive language for a certain brand of shoes — in order for them to wear what works best for them.

“The interactive process is supposed to be flexible, and a conversation. If you can defer to the employee’s preference, you should,” she said. “There’s something really irrational and punitive about the way this came down, because the easy solution is, ‘Of course, you can wear your Skechers. Thank you for letting me know.’ Move on.”

She said it’s a bad human resources decision that led to lawyers on both sides “because someone wants to wear black Skechers.”

Professor Casey Weissman-Vermeulen Discusses Funding Cuts to CNY Fair Housing

Professor Casey Weissman-Vermeulen, Director of the Housing Clinic, spoke with the Daily Orange about local housing advocate CNY Fair Housing and its future as federal grants and funding are diminished for education initiatives.

CNY Fair Housing is a local nonprofit organization that receives funding through grants from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. It responds to tenant or renter discrimination cases by conducting investigations and taking legal action when necessary. But it now faces the elimination of grant funding for its education and outreach efforts, which are being challenged in court.

CNY Fair Housing’s mission, Weissman-Vermeulen said, extends beyond legal enforcement. He also said the organization also works to raise awareness about how housing discrimination impacts individual families and the greater community.

“Issues of discrimination and then isolating folks to areas of concentrated poverty, lead to all kinds of problems that we all sort of collectively pay for in terms of folks not being able to access jobs and being upwardly economically mobile or perhaps engaging in crime or non-legal economic activity,” Weissman-Vermeulen, a former attorney for CNY Fair Housing, said.

First Syracuse Law Student from Papua New Guinea Travels Across the Globe to Study International Law, Earn LL.M. Degree

Ansca Pakop LL.M.’25 is proud to be the first person from Papua New Guinea to attend the Syracuse University College of Law, and he plans to make the most of his time here. Almost 9,000 miles away from his island home in the Oceania region, Pakop is looking forward to spending the next year in Syracuse on a Fulbright grant to expand his already extensive legal knowledge by earning a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree with a particular interest in international law and national security.

Ansca Pakop smiles for the camera in the law library, wearing a suit

A working attorney for over a decade, Pakop has a LL.B., MBA and a master’s degree in economics and public policy from the University of Papua New Guinea. After holding a number of positions in many areas of the law, he is currently the legal counsel for the Climate Change & Development Authority in Papua New Guinea. His work is key to protecting the environmentally vulnerable island, and he has been involved in drafting, advising and interpreting climate change-related legislation and regulations, including Papua New Guinea’s Climate Change (Management) Act and the U.N. Paris Agreement Implementation Act.

Papua New Guinea became independent from Australia in 1975. With 13 million people speaking more than 800 languages, it is both the most populated Pacific island state and the most linguistically diverse in the world. Its large supply of minerals, particularly copper and gold, as well as petroleum and natural gas, both spur the economy and contribute to some of the major environmental issues that the island faces, including deforestation, erosion, greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, natural disasters and flooding.

Pakop’s interest in adding national security and international law to his resumé comes from Papua New Guinea’s urgent need to update its outdated national security policies, legislation and international intelligence operations, which date back to when the island was still an Australian colony. Its resources, economic potential and geographic location make Papua New Guinea of interest to world powers like Australia, China and the United States. In fact, the U.S. is currently investing a great deal there, including the renovation of a naval base to be used by the U.S. Navy, as a strategic location in close proximity to China.

Pakop is eager to learn as much as he can through the LL.M. program in order to bring that knowledge back home. He is pleased with his experience so far, calling it “quite intense and competitive.”

“I’m enjoying my classes, the diversity and the academic environment here,” he says. “We have such excellent and renowned faculty at Syracuse Law, many of whom have insights into things like NATO and cybersecurity that interest me. I’m learning such quality information through lectures and enriching classes.”

three students work at a desk in the library with papers on the table in front of them

In addition to his studies, Pakop has also joined the Student Bar Association (SBA), as well as the African Graduate Students Network.

Once he has earned his LL.M., he plans to return to Papua New Guinea’s Climate Change & Development Authority. He would also be open to working with his government’s defense or security agencies in the future.

“An LL.M. degree from Syracuse Law in the United States will be very helpful and prestigious for me when I return to Papua New Guinea,” Pakop says. “I am certain that the things I’m learning about international law will help my work and further my career. And, I will also have the strength of the Syracuse Law network behind me, even when I’m back on the other side of the world.”

Professor Shubha Ghosh Discusses Google Antitrust Case Remedies

Crandall Melvin Professor Shubha Ghosh spoke with the National News Desk about possible remedies in the Google antitrust ruling.

“The courts generally, and I don’t see a change in this, tend to like contractual remedies like trying to make sure contracts are not being used in a way that is anti-competitive, and that’s more their bailiwick,” said Ghosh, Director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute. “That’s something they may be more comfortable with in terms of just not having the kind of exclusivity arrangements that Google might have had with Apple, in terms of just trying to open up like the data.”

College of Law Hosts Disability Awareness Panel

The College of Law recently held a Disability Awareness Panel, a part of Syracuse’s Disability Cultural Center’s Disability Pride Month.

Rachel Dubin and Professor Cora True-Frost L’01, two of the featured panelists, shared their personal experiences and legal insights in navigating education for people with disabilities.

The two highlighted the challenges people face in education, including finding accommodations, and the need for legal intervention in preventing non-inclusive policy.

“Law really matters, and so the person who is protected needs to understand what their possible accommodations can be legally, and finding that answer can be very difficult for the person who has disabilities and is entitled to these protections,” said True-Fost.

Dean Terence Lau Speaks with NBC News on How Automotive Tariffs Will Affect Consumers

Dean Terence Lau L’98 recently spoke with NBC News on how new automotive tariffs will impact consumers. One anticipated way is for auto insurance premiums to increase.

It will cost insurance companies more to replace damaged car parts that are subject to tariffs. “When you get into an accident, your car insurance company is the one that’s going to be buying those parts to repair your vehicle,” said Lau, who was previously a trade lawyer for Ford Motor Co. “Many products are imported, and so I expect that we will see some upward pressure on car insurance premiums.”

For consumers, Lau advised: “Don’t panic. Because when you panic, you make bad decisions.”