It is an eagerly anticipated opportunity for many first-year law students, which helps to build skills in oral advocacy and provides early courtroom experience.
This year, nearly 140 first-year students from the English Common Law program participated, showcasing their talents before 60 seasoned legal practitioners who served as judges for the preliminary rounds. Students were paired into teams of two appellant counsel and two respondent counsel, engaging in simulated court hearings that tested their ability to craft persuasive legal arguments.
Professor Stephen Blair, the competition organizer, emphasized the importance of this experience, stating, “Students want to get into a court-like setting as soon as possible, so we give them that chance.” The competition serves as a foundation for advocacy and communication skills, elements essential for a successful legal career.
The tort case under appeal in this year’s moot was Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc v Pine Valley Enterprises Inc, (2024 SCC 20). This is a case concerning the enforceability of exclusion clauses in a sales contract and whether they effectively exempted a seller from liability under Ontario's Sale of Goods Act.
Championship Round Highlights
After the preliminary rounds in the morning, the judges selected 16 semi-finalists, who advanced to four playoff hearings in the afternoon. From there, four students emerged to compete in the championship hearing:
- Kara Catellier and Omid Intezam (appellants)
- Taqwa Jasim and Megan Starchuk (respondents)
The championship hearing was presided over by a distinguished panel of judges, including retired Justice Ian Binnie, formerly of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Honourable Mahmud Jamal, Supreme Court of Canada and Common Law alum, the Honourable Adriana Doyle, LLB ’82, of the Superior Court of Justice.
Award Winners and Special Recognitions
The 2024 competition culminated an award ceremony. Common Law alum Janice Payne, LLB ’74, partner at Nelligan Law and long-time supporter of the Nelligan Moot, opened the ceremony, and commended the participants for their organization and effective argumentation.
Andrew Montague-Reinholdt, LLB ’10 and John Lundrigan, LLB ’95, presented the awards for Best Factum and the winning team, respectively. Both are partners at Nelligan Law and served as judges at the Saturday hearings.
Professor Anthony Daimsis, Director of the Moot Program, presented the award for Top Advocate. He noted how pleased he was with the quality of advocacy he witnessed in the competition.
Award winners:
Kara Catellier and Omid Intezam were awarded the John P. Nelligan Cup, for the top two-person team in the competition. The late John Nelligan was a founding partner of Nelligan Law and a leading litigation lawyer and practitioner. He was a strong supporter of the first-year moot competition, and attended the event enthusiastically, well into his 90s.
Taqwa Jasim and Megan Starchuk: Finalists (2nd Place)
Suzy Kwak and Nase (Jessica) Lim won the CCLA (County of Carleton Law Association) Best Factum Prize.
Kara Catellier received the The Allan O’Brien Award for Top Advocate. In honour of Allan O’Brien, LLB ’73, who passed away earlier this year, this prize was renamed the Allan O’Brien Award for Top Advocate. Al O’Brien was a proud alumnus and an enthusiastic proponent and participant in the Nelligan Moot at uOttawa.
A big congratulations to all the winners!! And enormous gratitude to the long-standing sponsors of the competition.