Albany Law Hosts 19 Law Schools for National Competition

Twenty-four teams from 19 law schools around the country will compete at Albany Law School in the 25th Annual Domenick L. Gabrielli Competition, held Thursday, Feb. 28, through Saturday, March 2, 2013.

Each year the competition focuses on emerging and controversial issues in family law. Teams of two to three current law students compete in both written and oral advocacy skills, and they are judged by prominent members of the local bar association, state and federal judges, Albany Law School professors, and members of the Albany Law Moot Court Board.

This year's problem addresses whether it is constitutional to apply a child neglect statute to remove a child from the custody of her mother because of the child’s morbid obesity. Although the state alleges it is necessary to remove the child in order to alleviate the child’s related health conditions, the mother asserts that her fundamental right to parent outweighs any interest the state may have to protect the child’s well-being.

To mark the competition's 25th anniversary, St. John's University School of Law Professor Elaine Chiu will be speaking to the competitors at a banquet immediately following the preliminary rounds. Her discussion is entitled: "Atrocities at Home: Child Brides in the USA."

Participating law schools include:

Brooklyn Law School
DePaul University College of Law
George Washington University Law School
John Marshall Law School*
New York Law School
Northern Kentucky University, Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center
Roger Williams University School of Law*
Seton Hall University School of Law*
Southern Illinois University School of Law*
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law
University of Baltimore School of Law
University of Cincinnati College of Law
University of Miami School of Law
University of Mississippi School of Law
Valparaiso University School of Law
Wake Forest University School of Law
Widener University School of Law – Harrisburg*
Widener University School of Law – Wilmington

*2 teams