STUDENTSCOMPETING ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
NCCU School of Law Moot Court 2021: A Spring Competition Season Like No Other
with professionalism and poise. Ms. Brittain, Ms. Blackmon, and Mr. Huffman, coached by Professor Nakia C. Davis, made it to octo-finals on day two of the Albany competition, finishing in the top quarter — eighth out of 32 teams.
BY PROFESSOR SHELLY DeADDER Associate Professor of Legal Writing
In March of 2020, Norieh Brittain (3LE) and her teammate, Sakeinah Perry (3L) were practicing in earnest for the Charleston School of Law Moot Court Competition, which was scheduled to begin on March 19, 2020. The brief had been submitted and travel plans had been made. On the evening of March 11, 2020, after an afternoon of practicing with their coach, Professor Don Corbett, the team received word that the competition was cancelled due to the recent spread of the coronavirus in the United States. The brief would not be scored and oral arguments would not take place. At the time, the nation was in a state of uncertainty and fear. No one could predict the tragic toll that the virus would take over the coming year. On February 26, 2021, almost a year after her 2020 competition was cancelled, Ms. Brittain and her teammates, Brianna Blackmon (3L) and Matthew Huffman (3L), competed in the Albany Law School Family Law Competition. MATTHEW HUFFMAN (LEFT), NORIEH BRITTAIN (CENTER), AND Like many aspects of life since BRIANNA BLACKMON (RIGHT) March 2020, the competition looked a bit different. For the first time, spring 2021 competitions took place in the virtual world, which created new challenges for all our moot court teams. Team meetings took place via Zoom, as did most practice sessions. Oral arguments also occurred remotely, which meant our teams did not get the benefit of traveling to other law schools and meeting students from around the country. Fortunately, our teams were able to compete “live” from the NCCU School of Law Moot Courtroom. Of course, there were questions like, where do we place the camera? Do we look at the camera or at the screen? Is our coach allowed to be here? Despite the logistical hurdles, our teams navigated the competitions 52
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DYNASIA BALLON (LEFT) AND ANDYNE ANDERSON (RIGHT)
SHATORIA COLEMAN (LEFT) AND DANIEL SWAIN (RIGHT)
On February 26, 2021, Dynasia Ballon (3L) and Andyne Anderson (3L), coached by Professor Dorothy Hairston Mitchell, competed in the Capital University Law School Juvenile Law Competition. Ms. Anderson won the award for Best Oral Advocate in the first round. On March 5, 2021, Shatoria Coleman (3L) and Daniel Swain (3L), coached by Professor Amy Folk, competed in the Howard University School of Law Bryant-Moore Constitutional Law Competition.
Finally, Alton (“Tripp”) Combs (3L) and Jared Donaldson (3L), coached by Professor Kevin Foy, competed in the Fordham University School of Law Securities Law Competition on Friday, March 12, 2021. ALTON COMBS (LEFT) AND JARED Although the 2021 spring DONALDSON (RIGHT) competition season has certainly looked different than in years past, our teams still gained invaluable experience and made NCCU School of Law proud. Congratulations to all our teams!
