Second Place and Top Honors for USD's Appellate Moot Court National Team at Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition

San Francisco (February 19, 2014) – Brittany Zummer, ’14 (JD), and Jillian Ewan, ’15 (JD), members of University of San Diego School of Law’s Appellate Moot Court National Team, earned second place and top brief-writing honors at the 23rd Annual Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, San Francisco Regional.

The regional competition was held February 8, 2014 at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Teammates Tory Smith, ’14 (JD), and Kelsey Hathaway, ’15 (JD), placed third in the regional. Alumnus Patrick Klingborg, ’13 (JD), coached both teams to success.

With their second place finish, Zummer and Ewan advance to the National Finals held in Washington, D.C., March 15, 2014.

"The students were incredibly dedicated," said Klingborg. "They sought out USD [intellectual property] professors, they stayed late after oral argument practice to discuss specific issues with guest judges, and they were constantly researching new cases well after the brief was turned in."

The students earned praise from competition judges and demonstrated poise and confidence as they tackled complex intellectual property concepts. This year’s problem involved issues of trademark and trade dress protection for a uniquely designed guitar and a miniature souvenir guitars imitating the design of the originals.

About the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition

The Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition honors Saul Lefkowitz, who dedicated his career to the development of trademark and unfair competition law. The competition introduces law students to important issues arising in U.S. trademark and unfair competition law. The competition is open to teams from U.S. accredited law schools and approximately 80 teams of law students participate in the competition each year.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

Recognized for the excellence of its faculty, curriculum and clinical programs, the University of San Diego (USD) School of Law enrolls approximately 900 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest law, and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 81 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 23rd worldwide in all-time faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.