The 2020 Spring Semester heralded the formation of the Maryland Carey Law Inaugural Bankruptcy Moot Court Team. The students selected for this new team will be participating in the 29th Annual Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition which is widely recognized as one of the preeminent appellate moot court competitions in the nation. This prestigious competition promotes and recognizes the finest oral and written advocacy on significant issues in bankruptcy practice and is jointly sponsored by St. John's University School of Law and the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI).
Typically, more than 50 law school teams compete annually. However, due to concerns related to the Coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 competition will take place entirely online from February 27, 2021 – March 1, 2021. Any ABA-accredited law school may enter one team, comprised of two or three students. The total number of teams participating will be capped at 30, comprised of the first 30 schools that register for the competition.
Each team will prepare a brief during the 2020 Fall Semester. For oral arguments, each team will argue in two preliminary rounds on alternating sides. Eight teams will advance beyond the preliminary rounds. Awards will be presented to the top four teams, the Best Oralist and the Best Brief. Bankruptcy practitioners judge the preliminary rounds and briefs. Advanced rounds are judged by leading appellate and bankruptcy judges from around the country.
The current seven members of the 2020-2021 Maryland Bankruptcy Moot Court Team are: Edward Bellows, Nicole Bozzella (Co-Captain), Spencer Ebach, Robert Hockenbury (Captain), Sandy Lamy, Matthew Mallen and Jason Owens. Team meetings were held during the 2020 Spring Semester and resumed in the 2020 Fall Semester. We are confident that this inaugural team will represent the school well. The team is also looking to expand beyond this year’s competition and therefore first and second year students interested in joining the team should reach out to Robert Hockenbury at robert.hockenbury@umaryland.edu for more information.