Ranked 4th in the country, SVSU’s moot court team is a hidden gem amongst the programs offered on campus. According to the American Moot Court Association (AMCA)’s website, the organization allows thousands of undergraduate students to compete in simulated appellate cases, developing legal skills and deepening their understanding of the law.
SVSU’s involvement in moot court goes past our excellent team; one of the team’s coaches is on the national AMCA board. Dr. Kevin Lorentz II, along with Dr. Amy Hendrickson, has coached our moot court team for the past two seasons, following Dr. Julie Keil, who founded the program in 2010.
Dr. Lorentz, competed on SVSU’s moot court team when he was getting his undergraduate degree and went to co-found UM-Flint’s moot court team before coming back to SVSU as an assistant professor and coach.
Dr. Lorentz states he is grateful for the experience moot court gave him, and he encourages students to consider it. “Moot court is a great experiential program that develops analytical abilities, critical thinking skills, and the ability to think on one’s feet.”
He also emphasizes that you do not have to be a pre-law student to make the program a great experience.
“Students from any major will benefit, regardless [of whether] they want to go to law school or not. I’m an example of a student who did well in moot court but never went to law school myself, yet I would say the experience was extremely beneficial in my doctoral studies.”
Participating in moot court has been a transformational experience for many students on campus, including Payton Stemmerich, a third-year Spanish major.
“Our moot court program was the reason I wanted to go to SVSU,” said Stemmerich. “Being on the team has increased my confidence and cemented my interest in law school and litigation.”
Stemmerich, along with fourth-year political science major Jason Hoang, competed in an international moot court competition over the past summer. Stemmerich and Hoang travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, as the only U.S. team to compete against 23 teams from across the globe.
Newcomers to SVSU’s moot court team include the duo consisting of Carter Poniatowski, a second-year economics and finance double major, and McKenzie Shagena, a second-year political science major, who competed at SVSU’s Great Lakes Regional competition on November 8th.
“Competing was a very fun and unique experience. I have learned a lot about analyzing case law and making legal arguments during my time in moot court so far,” Poniatowski said, as he reflected on the past semester. “I feel more prepared for next year, and I can’t wait to compete again.” Shagena shared similar sentiments about the experience. “Going into the competition, I was extremely nervous. Once I was actively competing, I had a blast. It cemented that this is what I want to do for my career.”
SVSU’s moot court team has several competitions left in its season. Finalists will compete in the national AMCA competition hosted by the University of Kentucky.
