Moot Court Team Wins Tulane Mardi Gras Invitational
The Law School's National Moot Court Team continued its success this past week, as the duo of Johnny O'Kane '09 and Arpan Sura '09 were crowned champions of the 2009 Tulane University School of Law Mardi Gras Invitational. The annual sports law competition, which boasted a field of 38 teams from across the country, was hosted at the federal courthouse for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans. The semifinal and final rounds were held in the John Minor Wisdom courthouse, home of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In addition to the overall win, the team received other honors. Sura received the runner-up Best Oral Advocate Award, while O'Kane received fourth-best Oralist honors, based upon three preliminary rounds. The team also was recognized for writing the fourth-best brief.
"This was a great team effort, and we're honored to have been able to win this tournament despite there being such a large field," said O'Kane, who also serves as Chief Justice of the team. "Arpan was consistently spectacular every round, and this was a great way to end our moot court careers," he added.
The win marked the second straight year that a team from William & Mary has won the Tulane tournament. Last year, O'Kane and Lawrence Perrone '08, now with the Washington, DC, office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, bested a field including 32 teams, kicking off a remarkably successful 2008 season for the team. Earlier this year, O'Kane and Sura-along with Brandon Harter '09 - qualified for the National Finals of Moot Court in New York City by finishing as the runners-up in Region IV.
O'Kane, who also serves as a Notes Editor of the William and Mary Law Review, will be joining the Los Angeles office of Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP in October. Sura, a Lead Articles Editor of the William and Mary Law Review and successful member of the W&M Trial Team, will join the Washington, DC, office of Arnold & Porter this fall.