U of A Faculty of Law celebrates the 2025-26 mooting season

The University of Alberta Faculty of Law is celebrating another year of student achievements in the competitive mooting program.

The program, which is a cornerstone of the faculty’s experiential learning offerings, has a long history of success and student enrichment.

“Arguably the most important element of the mooting experience is growth,” says Dean Fiona Kelly. “Each year, students choose to participate in this rigorous program, in addition to their usual studies. They must learn to balance their time, work together, accept criticism, and push themselves to develop new skills.”

Along with helping students prepare for their future legal careers, mooting is also one of the most memorable experiences in law school.

“Long after students graduate, they’ll be able to recall the intricate details of the cases they cited, the facts in the problem, and the tough questions they grappled with,” says Chris Samuel, director of the Legal Research and Writing Program. “Moreover, the longer-lasting impact will be felt through the relationships and friendships that they forged throughout this process.”

The faculty held a Celebration of Mooting in April, where this year’s students, coaches and supporters were recognized. 

Top Prizes

Mooters Ansh Gulati, ‘27 JD, and Jasmine El-Issa, ‘26 JD, under the guidance of coaches Lynn Parish, Farrell Shadlyn (pictured) and Barbara Acton, captured two of the most exciting wins of the season. 

In March, the pair took home first place at the Canadian Client Consultation Competition in Victoria, where teammates Quinn Topp, ‘26 JD, and Jarred Moccia, ‘26 JD, also advanced to the semi-finals. 

This win qualified Gulati and El-Issa to advance to the international round of the Brown Mosten International Client Consultation Competition in Croatia. Facing top-tier teams from countries around the world, they delivered a world-class performance and qualified for the competition finals. Ultimately, they were awarded second place. 

Awards and Recognition

Early in the season, the U of A team took home prizes at the Julius Alexander Isaac Diversity Moot in Toronto. Sunidhi Wadhera, ‘27 JD, Mahnoor Khan, ‘27 JD, Mickayla McNaught, ‘27 JD, and Anjali Choudhary, ‘26 JD, coached by Alex Bernard and Tom Ndekezi, were awarded Top Factum. The respondent team of Wadhera and Khan also won the award for 3rd Place Overall team. 

At the Harold G. Fox Moot in Toronto, Johnathan Bobinac, ‘27 JD, and Armann Singh, ‘27 JD, were named runner up for the Gordon F. Henderson Award in the category of Best Respondent Factum. Their teammates were Gabriela Holko, ‘27 JD, and Aidan McDermott, ‘27 JD and they were coached by Tesia Doblanko and Rielle Gagnon. 

Rowan Ley, ‘27 JD, and Kiera Fischer, ‘27 JD, were awarded a Peter Cory Factum Prize for the second place factum at the Gale Cup. Coached by Katherine Fraser and Alexandra Dunn, the team also included Bray Jamieson, ‘26 JD, and Emma Tucker, ‘26 JD. 

The team of Uma Bhattacharya, ‘26 JD, Jordan Cowan, ‘26 JD, Benjamin Fairhurst, ‘27 JD, and Adam Gareau, ‘26 JD, competed in the Laskin Moot, where Gareau was named Top Oralist. They were coached by Professors Sandrine Ampleman-Tremblay and Andrew Leach. 

The U of A team won a string of awards at the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law Moot. The team of Krystin Hoffart, ‘26 JD, Naz Kousha, ‘26 JD, Dalena Nguyen, ‘27 JD, and Tajdeep Singh Sandhu, ‘26 JD, coached by Anna Kuranicheva, won second place for Top Factum, third place for Top Law School and third place for Top Oralist Team. Hoffart also won the award for Top Oralist Mooter, while Singh Sandu won third place in the same category. 

The virtual National Family Law Negotiation Competition took place at the end of February, where Chelly Francisco, ‘26 JD, took third place in the Advocate category. Francisco’s teammates were Bryce Ruel, ‘26 JD, McKenna Mercier, ‘26 JD, Rae Wilson, ‘26 JD, Patrick Battigelli, ‘26 JD, and Sunna Sahib, ‘26 JD, coached by Riley Gallant and Madison Durham. 

At the Fanaki Moot, held in Toronto in March, Dayna Nelson, ‘27 JD, and Marcus Friesen, ‘27 JD, were named second runner up for the Best Team – Appellant Award. Nelson also took first place in the category of Best Oralist - Appellant. Their team, coached by Professor Chris Samuel, also included Yonatan Kaplinsky, ‘27 JD, and Kessara Rey, ‘27 JD. 

All Moots

Three teams represented the U of A at the Alberta Court of Appeal moot in March. Brady Barclay, ‘27 JD, and Kristen Farmer, ‘27 JD, took part in the Civil competition, coached by Kyle Kawanami. Mackenzie Mol, ‘27 JD, and Devon Porret, ‘27 JD, took part in the Constitutional competition, coached by Professor Gerard Kennedy. Caity Palfy, ‘27 JD, and Daniel Tirado Ribero, ‘27 JD, competed in the Criminal competition, coached by Jon Kerber and Brianne Larochelle. 

At the Bennett Jones Health Law Moot held in Calgary in March, Taryn Ghostkeeper-Dachuk, ‘27 JD, Jasmine Haher, ‘27 JD, Sonia Lal, ‘27 JD, and Calum Ward, ‘27 JD, represented the U of A. They were coached by Owen Smith and James Allan. 

Dave Dahlin, ‘26 JD, Yousaff Habib, ‘27 JD, Mahnoor Khan, ‘27 JD, and Raphael Khan, ‘27 JD, competed in the Bowman National Tax Moot, which was held in Toronto in early March. They were coached by Mark A. Stevens and James Yaskowich.

The team of Alexandra Gagnon, ‘27 JD, Niel Jansen Van Rensburg, ‘27 JD, Gurmeet Rissam, ‘27 JD, and Mitchell Stewart, ‘27 JD, competed in the Davies Canadian Corporate/Securities Moot, also held in Toronto in early March, coached by Missy Garska. 

The Kawaskimhon Moot, which took place in Windsor in March, featured the team of Brittany Bitternose, ‘27 JD, Melanie Taylor, ‘27 JD, Lindsey Zess, ‘27 JD, and Teanna Winsor-Carruthers, ‘26 JD, coached by Koren Lightning and Kathleen Makela. 

The MacIntyre/Sopinka moot took place in Kamloops in February. The U of A team included Stephen Cook, ‘27 JD, Kristopher Davidson, ‘26 JD, Katrina Estok, ‘27 JD, and Jennifer Kim, ‘27 JD, coached by Andreanne Dube, Colter McCoy and supported by volunteer Cameron McCoy. 

Isabella Dej, ‘27 JD, and Reid LeClair, ‘27 JD, represented the U of A at the National Labour Arbitration Competition in Toronto, coached by David Williams and Drew Blaikie. 

Taylor Labelle, ‘27 JD, and Tessa Sautner, ‘27 JD, competed at the Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot in February. They were coached by Paul Maas and Annie Redmond. 

The team of Mercedes Belcourt-Rothe, ‘27 JD, Brandon Kaiser, ‘27 JD, Lida Magnus, ‘27 JD, and Jeff Tallman, ‘27 JD, competed at the Wilson Moot in February, coached by Maddison Croden and Justine Fay. 

Congratulations to all the students and coaches for their hard work and dedication this year!