Standing from left to right: 2L Adam Kerlek, 3L Omid Ghaffari-Tabrizi, 3L Gregory Zarin, and Dessires Zarin. Sitting from left to right: 3L Jennifer Newberger and Professor Patricia Redmond.

The University of Miami School of Law’s Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board continued its success at this year’s Fifteenth Annual Duberstein National Bankruptcy Competition in New York City.  One of the Miami teams, consisting of third-year students Jennifer Newberger and Gregory Zarin, placed third overall and won the best brief award.  A second team, consisting of third-year student Omid Ghaffari-Tabrizi and second-year student Adam Kerlek, also performed admirably against fierce competition.

The Duberstein Moot Court Competition is the nation’s only moot court competition devoted entirely to bankruptcy and is jointly sponsored by St. John’s University School of Law and the American Bankruptcy Institute.  Fifty teams from law schools throughout the country participated in this competition, designed to promote and recognize excellence in oral and written advocacy.  This year’s competition dealt with two current topics in bankruptcy practice: whether the 2005 bankruptcy amendments limit attorney speech in violation of the First Amendment, and whether the automatic stay prevents a chapter 7 debtor’s lawyer from receiving payment for post-petition services.

The oral argument rounds and the competitor briefs were judged by prominent bankruptcy practitioners and judges.  The quarter-final and semi-final rounds were held at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, which has been named in honor of the late esteemed Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein.

The teams were coached by Professor Patricia Redmond, who has led the University of Miami School of Law to great success in this competition over the past decade.  Prominent judges, local attorneys, and UM professors served as judges throughout the teams’ four-month preparation.

posted 26-March-2007