Twenty-three teams from 21 law schools around the country participated in the 22 nd Annual Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition, hosted by Albany Law School in late February.
The 23 teams faced off over a hypothetical dispute between two divorced parents of an autistic child due to a change in financial circumstances for one of the parents and a change in educational needs for the child. Each team of law students acted as either the appellant or respondent on the case.
Each year the competition focuses on emerging and controversial issues in family law. Teams of two current law students compete in both written and oral advocacy skills, and they are judged by prominent state and federal judges, Albany Law School professors, members of local bar associations and members of the Albany Law Moot Court Board.
After two days of competition, shortened from three due to inclement weather, the team from Florida State University College of Law emerged with the victory by beating Valparaiso University School of Law in the final round.
As the host, Albany Law School does not compete. The participating institutions were:
The Gabrielli Competition was created to honor the late Domenick L. Gabrielli, an Albany Law School graduate who served as an associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals for 10 years.