Western Law Hosts Inaugural Moot in Legal Ethics
April 07, 2010
On April 6th, 2010, Western Law hosted a new advocacy competition in Legal Ethics and Professionalism. The competition, sponsored by Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP, featured twenty first-year students appealing the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Strother v. 3464920 Canada Inc., a case involving conflict of interest and a lawyer’s duty of loyalty.
Lenczner Slaght is based in Toronto and has been consistently recognized as one of Canada's premier litigation practices. The competition was organized by Professor Stephen Pitel and Western Law alumnus Matthew Lerner'07, an associate with Lenczner Slaght. Preliminary rounds were judged by Kris Borg-Olivier, Jamie Spotswood and David Vitale, all of Lenczner Slaght, and Professor Randal Graham.
The two teams that advanced to the final round were Nick McAlister and Adam Lefler from Group E and Stephanie Sugar and Vitali Berditchevski from Group D. The final round, held in the Moot Court Room, was judged by Regional Senior Justice Edward Ducharme of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Law Society of Upper Canada Bencher James Caskey QC of Siskinds LLP, and Kris Borg-Olivier of Lenczner Slaght. In a split decision the judges determined that the inaugural winners of the competition were Stephanie Sugar and Vitali Berditchevski.
A reception and dinner for all competitors capped off the day's oral advocacy. At the reception Dean Ian Holloway and Professor Pitel both expressed their delight at Lenczner Slaght's willingness to sponsor this new advocacy competition. On behalf of the firm, Ronald Slaght QC warmly congratulated all competitors for their efforts and stressed the increasing importance of reputation, civility and professionalism.
Three teams received honourable mentions for their preliminary round performances: Nick Gefucia and Steven Pulver of Group A, Robert Glasgow and Kelby Carter of Group C, and Stephen Arnold and Sean Brennan of Group J.
