Students explore medical negligence in new moot
February 13, 2015
(l-r) Barbara Legate, Dave Williams, Dylan Fisher, Jason Sinukoff, Simon Clements and Peter Kryworuk
A new moot at Western Law provides students with practical trial-level advocacy experience in the health law field.
The inaugural Legate & Associates Medical Malpractice Moot was held this past week at Western Law. The competition featured 16 teams of two students, each representing either a plaintiff or a defendant, in a medical malpractice trial. The students made opening and closing statements, and examined medical expert witnesses on the topic of post-operative nursing standard of care.
First-year students Dylan Fisher and Jason Sinukoff were awarded the top prize.
“It was a definitely tough moot,” says Sinukoff. “Cross-referencing medical charts is no easy task, but it was an incredibly stimulating experience and I’m honoured by the award.”
Anna Berger, Barbara Legate and Zohar Weinbrand
The moot was the initiative of the student-led Western Health Law Association. Third-year law students Anna Berger and Zohar Weinbrand, the association’s co-chairs, thought it was important for students to have more exposure to trial level advocacy early in their career.
“We wanted to give students – especially first year students – the opportunity to explore the complex legal aspects of health care, and to have a sense of what medical malpractice is like. We are thrilled with the level of positive feedback we have gotten from the students. It was absolutely a worthwhile endeavor,” says Berger.
“I’m really thankful to Barbara Legate and her team for their generous sponsorship of the moot and for the expertise they brought to the process. We’re fortunate to have wonderful faculty support from Profs. Chamberlain and Solomon,” she adds.
“A trial moot focused on medical negligence is a fantastic opportunity for students to try their hands at something they will eventually do – call evidence – in a safe learning environment,” says Barbara Legate. “We congratulate the students who saw the value of the experience and took time out of their studies to try out some real lawyering.”
Legate & Associates lawyers, Laura Camarra, Brent Hodge, Kasia Kosacka, Dan Macdonald, Sue Noorloos and Barb Legate along with Western Law Faculty, volunteered as judges for the preliminary rounds.
Barbara Legate, Simon Clements, Peter Kryworuk, and Dave Williams, all senior lawyers practicing in the field of medical malpractice, judged the finals.
