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.
2024-2025 Committee
Nicholas Discala, Competition Chair
Mackenzie C. Brown, 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.
2024 Gabrielli Appellate Advocacy Competition Results
The Finalists argued in front of a bench of very impressive and skilled judges on Thursday, April 18, 2024:
Judges
- Hon. Rowan D. Wilson, New York State Court of Appeals
- Hon. Caitlin J. Halligan, New York State Court of Appeals
- Hon. Leslie E. Stein ‘81, Retired New York State Court of Appeals
Winners
Isuri U. Poththewela '25 & Sophia E. Casabonne '25
Finalists
Giancarlo A. Mertz '25 & Caroline E. Creagan '25
Best Oral Advocates
- 1st Place: Jennifer L. Tedisco ‘25
- 2nd Place: Emma A. Williams ‘25
- 3rd Place: Sophia E. Casabonne ‘25
Best Briefs
- 1st Place: Giancarlo A. Mertz '25 & Caroline C. Creagan '25
- 2nd Place: Emma A. Williams '25 & Jennifer Tedisco '25
- 3rd Place: Connor J. Wright '25 & Finn O’Connell '25