Four Maine Law students – Chris Knight, Griffin McShane, Nathan Moore, and Dale Rappaneau – have been selected to compete virtually in the Helsinki Information Law Moot Court Competition. The international competition consists of two rounds: a writing competition in November and oral arguments in January. Students are selected to participate in the oral argument round based on the quality of their writing during the first round. The Maine Law team was selected as one of only seven teams in the world, and the only team in the U.S., to advance to the oral argument round.
According to their website, the Helsinki Information Law Moot Court Competition is “aimed at helping students to find their way into the wonderful world of information law.” The competition gathers together people and students from around the world to explore topics including data protection, access to documents, governmental surveillance, and more. The writing portion of the competition required students to write two 5,000 word briefs. Typically the oral argument round of the competition is held in Helsinki, Finland, but due to COVID-19 this round will occur remotely in 2021.
The Maine Law students are coached by Professors Peter Guffin and Scott Bloomberg.
“The students have done a terrific job grappling with some of the most difficult, cutting-edge issues in information privacy law,” said Professor Bloomberg. “They have demonstrated exceptional writing skills in preparing their briefs for this competition.”
The oral argument portion of the competition is scheduled for January 25, 2021.
Story Update
The students competed on January 25th, and came in second. Chris Knight and Griffin McShane won awards for best oralists, and Dale Rappaneau and Nathan Moore won the IAPP finalist awards.
