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Domenick L. Gabrielli Appellate Advocacy Moot Court Competition

​The Domenick L. Gabrielli Appellate Advocacy Competition takes place during the spring semester and gives second-year students at Albany Law the opportunity to practice written and oral advocacy skills in intramural competitions. Two-person teams co-write an appellate brief and then give oral arguments before a panel of judges. In the preliminary rounds, each team is given two opportunities to argue before judges. Teams advance based on their appellate brief and oral argument scores. The subject matter for the competition encompasses a broad range of current issues of social and legal importance. The semifinal and final rounds are open for all who would like to attend.

2023-2024 Committee

Jessica Rutland, Competition Chair

Jennifer E. Forward, Competition Associate

Dean Rosemary Queenan, Faculty Advisor

Overview of Competitions Requirements

Eligibility: All second-year Albany Law students who have completed Introduction to Lawyering and have a GPA of 2.0 or above may participate in the Competition. First-year students are encouraged to serve as bailiffs during each round of competition (giving them a sneak peek at how the competition works).

Team Organization: Participants may choose their own partners and team members cannot be changed after the final date for submission of briefs, except under exceptional circumstances.

Brief: Each team must prepare one appellate brief. The case record is clearly divided into two separate issues for ease of dividing work.

Oral Arguments: Each team must argue in two preliminary rounds for a maximum of 24 minutes, with each individual required to argue at least 10 minutes.

Judges: A panel of three judges evaluates each argument and judges from the New York Court of Appeals or the Federal bench traditionally hear the final round.

2023 Gabrielli Appellate Advocacy Competition Results

The Finalists argued in front of a bench of very impressive and skilled judges on Thursday, April 20, 2023:

Judges

  • Hon. Michael J. Garcia '89, New York State Court of Appeals
  • Hon. Shirley Troutman '85, New York State Court of Appeals
  • Hon. Mae A. D'Agostino, U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York 
  • Hon. Michael C. Lynch '79, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department
  • Hon. Lillian Wan '00, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department

Winners

Noah Coates '24 & William J. Matthews '24

a group of people posing for a photo

Finalists

Cameron L. Bishop '24 & Priscilla C. Capuano '24

Best Oral Advocates

  • 1st Place: Cameron L. Bishop '24 and William J. Matthews '24 (tied)
  • 2nd Place: Noah Coates '24 and Tahseen H. Midani '24 (tied)
  • 3rd Place: Priscilla C. Capuano '24

Best Briefs

  • 1st Place: Hannah M. Adams '24 & Caroline B. McCaffrey '24
  • 2nd Place: Isabella Napodano '24 & Marie-Therese F. Witte '24
  • 3rd Place: Cara E. LaPorta '24 & Sarah G. Panariello '24

More Photos