Smith, McDowell & Powell law clerk Kimberly Van Spronsen, as a member of the McGeorge Moot Court Honors Board, recently won the Northern California Regional Competition of the New York National Moot Court 66th Annual Competition, and will compete in the national tournament hosted by the New York Bar Association in February 2016.
The qualifying competition was held November 13-14, 2015, at University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. However, the work truly began in October as the teams received the issue, which involved alleged illegal insider trading. The teams spent weeks researching and writing a persuasive brief that was submitted to a panel of judges. After these briefs were graded, the teams gathered at McGeorge to participate in simulated court proceedings, where the oral arguments were presented to a panel of three or four judges.
Kimberly Van Spronsen, along with co-counsel Jenifer Gee, advanced to the semi-finals, having been seeded in first place after their combined brief score and first round wins against UC Berkeley and UC Davis. The pair went on to prevail against UC Hastings in the semi-final rounds and ultimately won the final round against another team of advocates from McGeorge. Winning the regional rounds in the two-tiered competition, the team now advances to compete nationally in New York City.
The entire team at SMP would like to congratulate Van Spronsen for her success and wish her the best of luck as she prepares for the national competition. For further reading on the competition and the finalists, click here.