Students in the News Thurgood Marshall Team Reaches National Quarterfinals The Black Law Students Association Thurgood Marshall National Mock Trial team advanced to the Elite Eight on March 16. An outstanding team of 3Ls Royce Davis and Stephanie Thom and 2Ls Sara Fitzpatrick and Douglas Bullock advanced after winning their regionals in January and preliminary rounds on March 15. Team Coach Professor Joanne Van Dyke L’87 reports that, “They were a great team, and the model of excellence and ethics in advocacy.” AAJ Trial Team Wins Boston Regional, Advances to Finals In a superb result for the College of Law, 3Ls Thomas DeBernardis, Annie Millar, Jenny Pratt, and Raul Velez won the Boston Regional of the American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition on March 4, 2018. As regional winners, Team Syracuse moves forward to compete in the National Finals in Raleigh, NC, in April. Professor of Practice Erik Teifke coached the team, and 3L Kody Luczak was team clerk/alternate. 
College of Law Team Advances to the National Round of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition The team of 3L Ryan Lefkowitz and 2L Donya Feizbakhsh won the Manhattan Regional competition of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition on February 24. Coached by Brady O’Malley L’11 of Smith, Sovik, Kendrick & Sugnet PC, the team advanced to the National Round in Washington, DC, in April. Feizbakhsh was named second best advocate for the region and Lefkowitz, the sixth best advocate. A second team of 3Ls Aya Hoffman, Jonathan Maddalone, and Veronica Ramirez, coached by Professor Shannon Gardner, advanced to the semi-final round. Congratulations to both! 
Gabrielle Bull & Matthew Wallace Win the 2018 Mackenzie Hughes LLP Appellate Advocacy Competition More plaudits go to 2Ls Gabrielle Bull and Matthew Wallace, who won the 2018 Mackenzie Hughes LLP Appellate Advocacy Competition on March 1. Third-year students Anna Pinchuk and Steven Yurkonis won Best Brief, while best Overall Advocate went to Gabrielle Bull. The Hon. Theodore A. McKee L’75, Hon. Rosemary S. Pooler, and Hon. Diane L. Fitzpatrick were the final round judges. The competition directors—3Ls Melissa Green and Christopher Clark—did an outstanding job running the competition, along with Moot Court Executive Director 3L Ryan Lefkowitz. 
INSCT Students Compete in the 2018 National Security Crisis Law Simulation Crisis simulations are an essential part of national security students’ training, enabling them to put into practice the complex, interdisciplinary theory they learn in the classroom. For three days in early March, a team of College of Law and Maxwell School students—coached by Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism Director William C. Banks and Maxwell School Professor Sean O’Keefe—took part in the 2018 National Security Crisis Law Simulation at Georgetown Law. Team Syracuse consisted of third-year J.D./M.P.A. students Conor Sullivan and Ryan White; second-year J.D./M.P.A. student Kristina Cervi; third-year M.A.I.R/M.S.P.R candidate Stephen Brickey; and 3L Elizabeth Snyder. “It’s fair to say our students performed superbly, more than holding their own against the best from other schools,” says Banks. 
Students Take Part in International Tax Law Course Over Spring Break, alumnus and tax expert Marnin J. Michaels L’96, G’96 (below, lower left corner) and I taught the College’s first-ever International Tax Law course in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Providing students a thorough overview of tax law from the vantage point of a European and world financial capital, students visited law firms, wealth management firms, government offices, and banks, including the Swiss offices of Israel-based Bank Hapoalim, and heard lectures and presentations from more than a dozen law professors, distinguished executives, and practitioners. In between lectures and group assignments, students spent some of their spring break on the ski slopes of the Swiss Alps at Saas-Fee. 
LaunchPad and NYSSTLC Students Offer Tech Commercialization Office Hours In another example of how our institutes provide students with essential, practical experience, campus-based entrepreneurship program, Blackstone LaunchPad has announced a new collaboration with the College’s New York State Science and Technology Law Center. Third-year tech commercialization students Jennifer Hicks, Lindsey Round, Xiang Tony Qi, and Tom Carlon will hold office hours at the Bird Library to discuss patent searching strategies with University students working on new technologies. Externship Students Hear from Distinguished Guest Lectures - On March 5, Joseph Rutigliano L’86 hosted DCEx students at the Pentagon. Rutigliano currently serves as the Branch Head for the International and Operational Law Branch, Judge Advocate Division, Headquarters, US Marine Corps, as well as the Special Assistant on Law of War matters. He discussed his experiences as a JAG officer, described his path to a career in the Pentagon, and gave students a private tour.
- On February 12, DCEx program participants joined Dennis Polio L’16 (pictured below) at the Georgetown office location of Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky PLLC. Shortly after passing the bar, Polio began his legal career as an associate working in campaign finance, election law, lobbying, ethics compliance, and tax-exempt organizations.
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