MOOT COURT
The Murphy Family Endowed Moot Court Board is the principal oral advocacy organization at Villanova Law.
The Moot Court Board aims to enhance and showcase the appellate advocacy skills of our students. Members have the opportunity to showcase their appellate advocacy and writing skills by competing in various national competitions. Students argue cases involving constitutional law, criminal procedure, sports law, entertainment law, family law, immigration law and more in front of distinguished panels of judges against law students from around the country.
ABOUT THE BOARD
Ted Bolte ’27
Chairperson
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Villanova University, 2021; Stanford University, 2022
Hometown: Marlton, New Jersey
Areas of Interest: Litigation, Construction Litigation, Mass Torts and Products Liability Litigation
Previous Competitions: Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition; Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Semi-Finalist)
In his free time, Ted enjoys coaching, golfing and reading.
Allison Blank ’27
Vice Chairperson
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Boston University, 2024
Hometown: Hatfield, Pennsylvania
Areas of Interest: Litigation
Previous Competitions: 2026 Irving R. Kaufman Memorial Securities Law Competition; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Round of Twelve)
Allison’s interests include reading romance novels, crocheting and playing with her dog.
Camryn Williams-Babu ’27
Director of Recruitment, Retention and Inclusion
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Florida State University, 2020
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Areas of Interest: Public Interest, Nonprofit Management and Criminal Law
Previous Competitions: 2026 National Telecommunications and Technology Competition; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Quarterfinalist)
Camryn enjoys reading, baking bread, knitting, crocheting and spending time with her dogs, Puddles and Apollo.
Drew Becker ’27
Reimel Administrator
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Thomas Jefferson University, 2024
Hometown: Hockessin, Delaware
Areas of Interest: Corporate and Commercial Litigation
Previous Competitions: 2026 Judge John R. Brown Admiralty (Finalist); 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Finalist)
In his free time, Drew enjoys cooking, golf, tennis, pickleball and drinking lots of coffee.
Marissa Gillespie ’27
Reimel Administrator
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Pennsylvania State University, 2024
Hometown: Havertown, Pennsylvania
Areas of Interest: Employment Law
Previous Competitions: 2026 Irving R. Kaufman Memorial Securities Law Competition; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition
Marissa enjoys reading, shopping and true crime documentaries.
Annie Langhauser ’27
Director of External Competitions
Undergraduate Institution and Year: University of Maryland, 2023
Hometown: Cumberland, Maine
Areas of Interest: Criminal Law
Previous Competitions: 2026 Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Semi-Finalist)
In her free time, Annie enjoys skiing, trying new restaurants, reading and going to concerts.
Easton Warner ’27
Director of External Competitions
Undergraduate Institution and Year: John Carroll University, 2024
Hometown: Buffalo, New York
Areas of Interest: Constitutional Law, Civil Rights Litigation and Commercial Litigation
Previous Competitions: 2026 Judge John R. Brown Admiralty (Finalist); 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Finalist)
Easton enjoys playing and watching hockey, hiking and working out.
Quinn Kelley ’27
3L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: University of Oregon, 2022
Hometown: St. Augustine, Florida
Areas of Interest: Bankruptcy, Tax Administrative and Constitutional Law
Previous Competitions: 2026 Gender & Sexuality Competition (Semi-Finalist); 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Quarterfinalist)
In her free time, Quinn enjoys spending time with her cats, yoga and visiting art museums.
Amisha Mirchandani ’27
3L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Florida State University, 2023
Hometown: St. Thomas, USVI
Areas of Interest: Personal Injury/Medical Malpractice, Family Law and Intellectual Property
Previous Competitions: 2026 Ellen A. (Nell) Hennessy Employee Benefits Competition; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Quarterfinalist)
Amisha enjoys reading, baking, traveling, exploring new places locally and volunteering.
Reagyn Powers ’27
3L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Loyola University Maryland, 2024
Hometown: Westminster, Maryland
Areas of Interest: Family Law and Civil Law
Previous Competitions: 2026 Ellen A. (Nell) Hennessy Employee Benefits Competition; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Quarterfinalist)
Reagyn enjoys leisure reading, painting, spending time with family and friends and caring for her houseplants.
Shea Sarsfield ’27
3L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Pennsylvania State University, 2023
Hometown: Hershey, Pennsylvania
Areas of Interest: Mass Tort Litigation and Medical Malpractice
Previous Competitions: 2026 The FAME Center Intellectual Property Law; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition
Shea’s interests include golf, basketball and playing guitar.
Kyle Schoener ’27
3L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Loyola Marymount University, 2021
Hometown: Chalfont, Pennsylvania
Areas of Interest: Constitutional Litigation, Employment Law and Labor Law
Previous Competitions: 2026 Gender & Sexuality Competition (Semi-Finalist); 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Winner)
Outside of law school, Kyle enjoys rock climbing, retro video games and reminiscing about his former competitive Super Smash Bros. career.
Phoebe Tuite ’27
3L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: New York University, 2021
Hometown: Middleton, Wisconsin
Areas of Interest: Criminal Law, Family Law and Public Interest
Previous Competitions: 2026 National Telecommunications and Technology Competition; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition (Quarterfinalist)
Phoebe’s interests include antiquing, swimming, live music and jigsaw puzzles.
Jason Warren ’27
3L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: The Catholic University of America, 2024
Hometown: Standish, Maine
Areas of Interest: Litigation, Workers’ Compensation and Constitutional Law
Previous Competitions: 2026 The FAME Center Intellectual Property Law; 2025 Theodore L. Reimel Competition
Jason enjoys basketball, football, cooking, history and traveling.
Tara Ansari Esfahani ’28
2L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Leiden University College, 2020
Hometown: Watchung, New Jersey
Areas of Interest: Public Sector/Government Law, International Law and Immigration Law
In her free time, Tara enjoys hiking, long-distance running, animal caretaking and adventures with her dog.
Christopher Buchanan ’28
2L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: University of Delaware, 2024
Hometown: Great Meadows, New Jersey
Areas of Interest: Civil Litigation, Sports Law and Intellectual Property
Christopher’s interests include playing golf, watching sports, politics, studying history and camping.
Hope Frantz ’28
2L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Villanova University, 2025
Hometown: Dallas, Pennsylvania
Areas of Interest: Litigation, Products Liability and Class Actions
Hope enjoys skiing, traveling and reading.
Emily Jing ’28
2L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Wake Forest, 2025
Hometown: Beijing, China
Areas of Interest: Immigration Law and Commercial Litigation
Emily’s interests outside of law school include games, tea, literature and history.
Karina Kohli ’28
2L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Temple University, 2024
Hometown: Bensalem, Pennsylvania
Areas of Interest: Bankruptcy, White Collar Crime, International and Cross-Border Law, Risk Management and Insurance Law
Outside of law school, Karina is a self-proclaimed bartender and barista, Philadelphia restaurant enthusiast, charcuterie board-maker and enjoys traveling.
Noah Lopez ’28
2L Board Member
Undergraduate Institution and Year: Rowan University, 2025
Hometown: Millville, New Jersey
Areas of Interest: Employment, Bankruptcy, Sports and Immigration.
Noah enjoys sports, running and reading.
Chairperson
The chairperson manages all members of the Villanova Law Moot Court Board. The chairperson acts as the point-person between the Moot Court Board and the greater law school and administration. Additionally, the chairperson oversees all planning, coordination, expenditures and communication for the internal competition, external competitions and additional extracurriculars.
Vice Chairperson
The vice chairperson assists the chairperson and all other executive board members to successfully complete their tasks. The vice chairperson frequently acts as an intermediary for the chairperson, other executive board members and other Moot Court board members, keeping the communication and relationships among the board strong. Additionally, the vice chairperson maintains relationships with the Moot Court Board's alumni, assists with organizing alumni events and connects current members with alumni in their interested fields."
External Competition Coordinators
The external competition coordinators are responsible for organizing the Moot Court Board’s participation in competitions across the country, including submitting applications, organizing travel and determining who competes at which competitions. The external competition coordinators also play a role in judging the summer competition and determining the pairing and coaching assignments.
Reimels Administrators
The Reimels administrators work with Professor Jessica Webb and coordinate her fall LW3–Litigation/Appellate Advocacy course with the Moot Court Board's Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition. The Reimels administrators are in charge of not only the logistics of the competition but also grading competitor briefs, providing feedback to Professor Webb on the competition problem prior to the fall semester and engaging with students in the 2L class competing in the competition.
Director of Recruitment, Retention and Inclusion
The director of recruitment, retention and inclusion plans, executes and oversees the administration of the annual summer competition—the primary means to gain membership to the Moot Court Board. Additionally, the director plans and executes events aimed at promoting Board unity and retention. The director also oversees the Moot Court Board's DEI Committee and directs all diversity and inclusion initiatives to recruit diverse members and engage with Villanova Law's various affinity groups.
Students can attain membership on the Moot Court Board in one of two ways:
- Competing in the annual Moot Court Summer Competition; or
- Stellar performance in the intra-school Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition.
Summer Competition
The Director of Recruitment and Alumni Relations organizes a competition for rising 2L and 3L students to compete for membership on the Moot Court Board. Each competitor writes an appellate brief and argues on-brief in front of the Executive Board, a panel of five members. The oral argument is 12 minutes and is followed by a short interview. The brief and oral argument are each worth 50% of the overall competition score. The Moot Court Board selects approximately 10-12 new members from this competitive process. Although students may try out for Moot Court Board and the Villanova Law Review write-on, students who join Moot Court Board cannot jalso join a journal.
Reimel Competition
The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board may decide to extend an invitation for Membership on the Moot Court Board after stellar performance in the Reimel Competition. The Moot Court Board may choose to select one competitor in a team or both partners in a team. This decision is made after considering a team’s brief score, oral argument performance and advancement in the competition.
First-Year Member Responsibilities:
- Compete in Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition in the Fall
All first-year Moot Court board members are required to compete in the fall intraschool competition in preparation for their spring outside competitions. The first-year Moot Court board members participate in the intraschool competition in tandem with enrollment in the LW3–Litigation/Appellate Advocacy course with Professor Webb. - Compete in External Competitions in the Spring
Each first-year Moot Court board member competes with a partner at a national moot court competition. The Moot Court board members are tasked with competing against other schools’ Moot Court teams at national competitions hosted by various law schools. Competing in an external competition will require members to write an appellate brief and argue before distinguished panels of judges. - Assist with the 1L Legal Writing Program in the Spring
The Moot Court Board helps the first-year legal writing faculty members administer and judge the first-year law students’ spring semester oral arguments. Each Moot Court board member provides constructive feedback to first-year students to assist in preparation for their graded arguments.
Second-Year Member Responsibilities:
- Mentor First-Year Board Members Throughout the Year
Each second-year Moot Court board member will mentor a first-year member throughout the year. The mentor will help their mentee review strategies for improvement, provide general advice, check in on the mentee’s mental health and well-being and provide a strong support system. - Compete in External Competitions in the Fall or Spring
Each Moot Court board member competes with a partner at a national Moot Court competition. The Moot Court board members are tasked with competing against other schools’ Moot Court teams at national competitions hosted by various law schools. Competing in an external competition will require members to write an appellate brief and argue before distinguished panels of judges. - Coach First-Year Members in External Competitions in the Spring
Each second-year Moot Court board member competes and serves as a student coach for a first-year or second-year team. Coaches organize oral argument practice schedules and coordinate with faculty, alumni and subject matter experts to assist with judging practice rounds in order to best prepare the Moot Court board members for their competitions. - Assist with the 1L Legal Writing Program in the Spring
The Moot Court Board helps the first-year legal writing faculty members administer and judge the first-year law students’ spring semester oral arguments. Each Moot Court board member provides constructive feedback to first-year students to assist in preparation for their graded arguments.
COMPETITIONS
Each year, the Moot Court Board competes in Villanova Law's annual Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition as well as a number of external competitions.
The Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition is an annual intra-school tournament and a hallowed tradition at Villanova Law. Named in honor of the late Theodore L. Reimel, Judge for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas from 1953 to 1973, the competition is designed to foster student development in written and oral advocacy through simulated appellate argument. Many alumni and other esteemed members of the legal community come to the law school to judge the oral arguments and provide advice and feedback to our students.
In 2015, the Reimel Competition was integrated with the LW3–Litigation/Appellate Advocacy course to provide second-year students with a more comprehensive, authentic and practice-oriented educational experience. Students enrolled in Appellate Advocacy participate in Reimels as part of the course. Third-year students are also encouraged to participate in the competition. All participants work in teams of two and are required to write an appellate brief and participate in oral arguments.
2L students enrolled in Legal Writing III: Litigation/Appellate Advocacy compete in teams of two writing an appellate brief and arguing twice (once on-brief and once off-brief) in the preliminary round of the competition. The top-scoring teams advance to the elimination rounds of the competition. Villanova alumni, professors, local practitioners, and distinguished federal and state judges serve as panelists in the intra-school competition.
66th Annual Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition
Champions
Kyle Schoener ’27 and Robert Slota ’27
Awards
Best Final Round Oralist: Andrew Becker ’27
Best Brief: Phoebe Tuite ’27 and Camryn Williams-Babu ’27
Second Best Brief: Allison Blank ’27 and Isabel Cubiñá O'Hara ’27
Third Best Brief: Isabella Astolfi ’27 and Lilly Rachwal ’27
Best Preliminary Round Oralist: Jessica Alexander ’27
Judges
Final Round Bench
- The Honorable Elizabeth T. Hey ’89, Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- The Honorable Megan McCarthy King, Judge for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania
- The Honorable Gerald J. Pappert ’85 CLAS, Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Semi-finals Bench
- The Honorable Edward S. Kiel, Judge for the District of New Jersey
- The Honorable Gail A. Weilheimer, Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- The Honorable John Milton Younge, Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
1961-62: Robert J. Bray ’62 and John J. Duffy ’62
1962-63: Kenneth N. Garber ’63 and Robert Silverberg ’64
1963-64: Richard H. Roesgen ’64 and Thomas M. Twardowski ’65
1964-65: Charles A. Haddad ’66 and Eugene D. Silverman ’66
1965-66: Anthony B. Agnew ’67 and Barton A. Pasternak ’67
1966-67: Edward R. Murphy ’67 and Patrick J. O’Connor ’67
1967-68: Joseph R. Lally ’69 and Edward S. Panek ’69
1968-69: Joseph D. Casey III ’70 and Samuel J. Knox ’70
1969-70: Joseph T. Sebastianelli ’71 and Leonard N. Zito ’71
1970-71: John P. Moses ’71 and Thomas J. O’Neill ’68 VSB, ’71 CWSL
1971-72: Alan R. Jackman ’63 CLAS, ’72 CWSL and John W. Nails ’72
1972-73: Paul R. Beckert ’73 and John C. Gabroy ’73
1973-74:Judith R. Forman ’75 and Lise Luborsky ’75
1974-75: Joseph F. Lawless ’76 and David E. Worby ’76
1975-76: Patricia H. Burrall ’76 and J. Keath Fetter ’76
1976-77: James F. Guidera ’75 CLAS, ’78 CWSL and Dennis C. McAndrews ’78
1977-78: James M. Baker ’78 and Frederick J. Lauten ’79
1978-79: Nancy A. Ezold ’80 and Susan T. Fletcher ’80
1979-80: Kenwyn M. Dougherty ’80 and Richard L. McMonigle ’80
1980-81: Joseph C. Kohn ’82 and Lisa Palfy ’82
1981-82: Brian L. Lincicome ’82 and Jeffrey A. Lutsky ’82
1982-83: Michael J. Robinson ’84 and Andrew G. Siegeltuch ’84
1983-84: Sylvia T. Nisenbaum ’85 and Nancy H. Redd ’85
1984-85: Barbara A. O’Connell ’86 and Pamela L. Pentin ’86
1985-86: Libby A. White ’86 and David J. Wiedis ’86
1986-87: Lisa M. McCausland ’88 and Rosemary Pinto ’88
1987-88: Timothy J. Jaeger ’88 and Nina A. Kannatt ’88
1988-89: Richard E. Ruffee ’90 and Neil W. Townsend ’90
1989-90: Linda J. Ferrara ’91 and Rosemary D. Halligan ’91
1990-91: Robert J. Bohner Jr. ’91 and Leslie M. Gillin ’91
1991-92: Martin S. Lessner ’92 and Eric G. Zajac ’92
1992-93: Kelly Ann Connors ’94 and Michele C. Wiener ’94
1993-94: David A. Aikens ’94 and Michelle M. Aldrich ’94
1994-95: Joanne M. Judge ’96 and Barbara A. Williams ’96
1995-96: Michelle M. Lombardo ’88 BA, ’91 MS, ’97 CWSL and Jayne Y. Risk ’97
1996-97: Daniel J. Barry ’98 and Ronald D. Gale ’97
1997-98: Diane P. Carman ’89 CLAS, ’98 CWSL and Jennifer J. Clark ’98
1998-99: Tomika N. Stevens ’03 and Melissa H. Witsil ’00
1999-00: Maureen Q. Dwyer ’01 and Tracy D. Laskowski ’01
2000-01: Dennis L. Abramson ’01 and Andrew J. DiSanto ’01
2001-02 Kimberly A. Eger ’02 and Steven S. Poulathas ’99 VSB, ’02 CWSL
2002-03: Katherine J. Greger ’03 and William C. Root ’98 VSB, ’03 CWSL
2003-04: LeeAnn L. Gurysh ’05 and Christina M. Hanna ’05
2004-05: Edward J. Heffernan ’06 and Jonathan B. Ortiz ’06
2005-06: Christina M. Maron ’07 and Lindsay D. Varcoe ’07
2006-07: Bethany L. Deal ’05 CLAS, ’08 CWSL and Brian A. Pelloni ’08
2007-08: Michael J. Hoffman ’09 and Kelly M. Immordino ’09
2008-09: Brittany A. Koscher ’10 and Sean P. Philbin ’05 CLAS, ’10 CWSL
2009-10: Stephen E. Luttrell ’11 and Daniel A. Strumpf ’11
2010-11: John Mitchell Morris ’12 and Julia C. Young ’12
2011-12: Richard D. Eiszner ’05 CLAS, ’13 CWSL and Andrea E. May ’13
2012-13: Stephen J. McCloskey ’14 and Ashley M. Toczylowski ’14
2013-14: William G. Burrows ’15 and Mark R. Hewlett ’15
2014-15: Bethany E. Brooks ’15 and Nicole K. Pedi ’15
2015-16: Joshua Jacobs ’17 and Eugene Tsvilik ’17
2016-17: Sarah Burke ’18 and Kaitlyn Macaulay ’18
2017-18: Steven Lee ’19 and Daniel Sulvetta ’19
2018-19: Vanessa Huber '20 and Scott Zlotnick '19
2019-20: CC Carreras '21 and Karina Norwood '21
2020-21: Annalise Hodges '22 and Tasha Stoltzfus Nankerville '22
2021-22: Alexandra Romano ’23 and Isabelle Roman ’23
2022-23: Daniel Goldfield ’24 and Anna O'Brien ’24
2023-24: Jillian Updegraff '25 and Daniel Rooney '25
2024-25: Ry Stratton '26 and Margo Chapin '26
2025-26: Robert Slota '27 and Kyle Schoener '27
Last year Villanova Law’s Moot Court board members found success in various national appellate advocacy competitions, where they faced teams from law schools across the country. Each team consisted of two students from the Moot Court Board, the principal oral advocacy organization at Villanova Law which aims to enhance and showcase students’ courtroom advocacy skills.
Participants analyzed and argued cutting-edge legal issues for hypothetical cases, from either the plaintiffs’ side or the defendants’. They used procedures modeled after those employed in state and federal appellate courts.
This year, the Moot Court Board is excited to return to in-person external competitions and continue to meet success!
Villanova University School of Law
Moot Court Board
299 N. Spring Mill Rd.
Villanova, PA 19085
Faculty Advisor: Michael Furey
Volunteer to Judge the Reimel Competition