Chicago-Kent Team Finishes in Second Place in National Health Law Moot Court Competition

The Chicago-Kent College of Law team of Micah Fishman ’21 and Michelle Locascio ’21 won second place in the 2020 National Health Law Moot Court Competition.

The team defeated Suffolk University Law School, University of Maryland Carey School of Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, UIC John Marshall Law School, and University of Tulsa College of Law before falling to Seton Hall University School of Law in the finals.

During the competition, Fishman and Locascio debated the constitutionality of an executive order requiring mask usage in nursing homes and whether a nursing home violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by firing a janitor whose claustrophobia prevented her from wearing a mask.

While competing in a virtual environment presented its own challenges, Locascio says she and Fishman were prepared and confident. The pair kept earning high oral argument scores from different panels of judges throughout the competition, she says, and their “hard work ultimately paid off” as they reached the final rounds.

“Competing at the National Health Law Moot Court Competition was such a unique experience that we will never forget,” Locascio says. “We are grateful to have had the opportunity to represent Chicago-Kent.”

Fishman graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies. Locascio earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a certificate in criminal justice from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Another Chicago-Kent team, Marisa McGrenera ’21 and Allison Fornatto ’21, argued well but did not advance. Fornatto garnered recognition as the #5 oralist in a field of 32 teams.

“These teams both worked incredibly hard on this problem, putting in hours and hours of oral argument practice, after long days writing the brief,” says Cherish Keller, director of Chicago-Kent’s Ilana Diamond Rovner Program in Appellate Advocacy. “It’s great to see such hard work pay off. I’m very proud of their performances!”

The virtual competition was held November 6–7, 2020, and sponsored by Southern Illinois University School of Law, the Department of Medical Humanities at SIU School of Medicine, the American College of Legal Medicine, and the American College of Legal Medicine Foundation.