FSU College of Law Moot Court Team Wins National Competition

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida State University College of Law Moot Court Team has won first place in the Seigenthaler-Sutherland Cup National First Amendment Moot Court Competition. The competition was held March 23-24 in Washington, D.C.

Twenty-four law school teams participated in the competition, including teams from some of the nation’s top law schools. Florida State beat South Texas College of Law Houston, which is ranked by preLaw Magazine one of the nation’s best law schools for moot court, in the final round of competition at the Newseum.

Winning team members are third-year law students Brenda Czekanski, from Miami, and Jenna Von See, from Orlando. FSU College of Law alumni Jonathan Martin (’15), assistant general counsel at the Florida Department of Financial Services, and Ian Waldick (’16), a staff attorney at the Florida Supreme Court, coached the team to victory. Martin and Waldick previously won a national moot court competition in 2015 when they were law students at FSU.

“We are all so proud of our impressive student advocates and thankful for the efforts of their coaches,” said Dean Erin O’Connor. “This national win is another example of the excellence and talent of Florida State law students!”

Florida State’s advocacy teams have a strong record of winning national competitions. Most recently, in November 2017, the FSU Law Moot Court Team won first place in the 2017 Appellate Lawyers Association National Moot Court Competition in Chicago.