IIT Chicago-Kent to defend its championship in the National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competition

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law will defend its championship and best brief honors in the third annual National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competition. The tournament, sponsored by DePaul University College of Law and the Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, will be held February 24 and 25 at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.

This year's competition will address two issues related to the federal Theft of Major Artwork Act. The first focuses on Congress' constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce; the second deals with the statutory interpretation of the law.

Third-year students Sinjan Bose, Joshua Lurie and Kirtana Kalavapudi will compete on one of IIT Chicago-Kent's teams. The second IIT Chicago-Kent team will comprise second-year students Richard Poskozim and Filip Zucek.

The Honorables William J. Bauer and Diane P. Wood of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Honorable Mary L. Mikva of the Circuit Court of Cook County will judge the final round of the competition.

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. In 2008 and 2009, IIT Chicago-Kent won the National Moot Court Competition, the largest appellate advocacy tournament in the United States. In 2008, IIT Chicago-Kent became the first law school to win both the National Trial Competition and the National Moot Court Competition in the same year.