Your 2012 winners!

Congrats to this year's winners, Eric Silvestri and Nate Harter!

Recognizing old friends

As many are aware, last summer's transfer process cost us some dear friends. Though they're no long among us, these Maurer School vets continue to excel in their new environments (as if we'd expect anything less). So it should come as no surprise to learn that Northwestern's power couple of Drew Beres and Shy Jackson are plowing through the moot court competition up in Chicago. Take a look at their bracket here and you'll see that their quarterfinal match is tonight. I hope you'll join us in wishing these two great people the best of luck, both this evening and into the future.

The Final Four

Here are last night's results:

• Eric Silvestri def. Kyle Morrison
• Kyle Fields def. Nathan Herbert
• Nate Harter def. Caitlin Haney
• Michael Mattingly def. Anna Wortham

Congrats to each of our four finalists. Their efforts to this point have been truly incredible, and we should expect nothing less heading into Friday's finals.

Semifinals Predictions

Well folks, it's finally here. The Mickey Maurer Moot Court Madness Tournament of 2012 is down to its Elite Eight. The competition has been fierce and the mood electric. The individuals who have persevered to this point are the cream of the crop and the endurance it must take to go through 2 briefs, 3 rounds of preliminaries, the Octofinals and the Quarters is truly astonishing and worthy of all but the highest of resume lines. The Semifinals are upon us and only the best have survived. Rocky Balboa himself wouldn't have made it past the punches and jabs thrown during the earlier rounds, and even Chief Justice Roberts would be humbled by the quality of the briefs. Now with that out of the way, let's dive into the matchups.

Eric Silvestri v. Kyle Morrison (6 pm)
Anyone that knows these two silver-tongued first-class gentlemen will agree that following the speed at which these two competitors make awesome points will be like trying to find Jerod Adler during 3L year—damn near impossible. Eric Silvestri, the liberal, mass-Facebooking Indiana resident has been a staunch competitor throughout the earlier rounds and has shown great promise in his victories. However, his full potential has yet to be tested and the wild-eyed camerlingo known as Kyle Morrison will surely step up to the challenge. Morrison comes to this tournament from the great relaxation state of Michigan, and with his windswept hair he will be Silvestri’s greatest threat in the semifinal round (so long as he keeps his WPM count below his 125 average). Although Morrison is coming off of a tough win against the new Global EIC Kellie Rockel (who also happened to be his teammate in the Fall round), he will not set his phaser to stun for this one.
Prediction: Kyle Morrison

Make your pick: Silvestri or Morrison?

Kyle Fields v. Nathan Herbert (7 pm)
A David and Goliath story indeed, Kyle “the man with the plan” Fields took down the number-one-seeded-but-similarly-sized Jared Tideman in the Quarter finals and is shooting the moon on this one. With arguably the toughest division in the tournament, we have an underdog story in the making. In comes Nathan “yes my hair always looks like this thank you for noticing” Herbert. If you’ve seen this New Yorker boogie in Dunnkirk, you know he’s got the moves…but does he have the killer instinct needed to overcome the giant-slayer? Can he make it past the razor-sharp logic that Fields will use to cut his Samsonian birthright?
Prediction: Nathan Herbert, by a hair

Make your pick: Fields or Herbert?

Caitlin Haney v. Nate Harter (8 pm)
The lack of women in the final rounds is similar to the gender ratio at Maurer: damn-near depressing. Caitlin Haney is a fantastic oralist that has brought nothing but professionalism and poise to her arguments and has had some excellent matchups in the earlier rounds. With a victory over Alan Bradin and close-quarters brawl against the bracket-busting Katie Imburgia, this juggernaut will give Nate Harter all she’s got. Harter, by far the largest competitor in the Octofinals, has been able to steam past some tough opponents. With a win over the ever-adorable Emily Hughes and the Silver-Foxed Jason Howard (who can juggle more kids and commitments than you can), Harter is feeling as good as Obama when he watches the Republican debates.
Prediction: Nate Harter

Make your pick: Haney or Harter?

Anna Wortham v. Michael Mattingly (9 pm)
The beautiful Mrs. Anna Wortham, formerly Ms. Anna Reeves, enters the semi-finals with nothing but fire in her eyes. Like Caitlin Haney, Anna comes to the last few rounds completely outnumbered by the other sex. As a number-one seed, she is the highest ranking individual left and the one to beat. Her beastly opponent, Mr. Michael Mattingly, comes to the round as the darkest of horses. With the entire South behind him and the power of Kentucky Blue fueling this former football star, Mattingly will give our highest ranking member everything she can handle. Unlike the unnecessary Disney remake in 3D, this Beauty and Beast story will only end in heartache. Who will be Gaston? Who will survive to face either Haney or Harter?
Prediction: Anna Wortham

Make your pick: Wortham or Mattingly?

The Elite Eight is set

The semifinals are set for Tuesday the 21st, and these four matchups will decide our Final Four:

• Eric Silvestri v. Kyle Morrison (6 pm)
• Kyle Fields v. Nathan Herbert (7 pm)
• Caitlin Haney v. Nate Harter (8 pm)
• Anna Wortham v. Michael Mattingly (9 pm)

Who's the favorite from our final 8?

Saturday's quarterfinal results

Here are today's results for everyone who was too hungover to wake up in time:

• Nathan Herbert def. Joseph Fuschetto
• Kyle Morrison def. Kellie Rockel
• Michael Mattingly def. Justin Olson
• Nate Harter def. Jason Howard

Which Saturday result was most surprising?

Friday's results

Half of the semifinalists are now set. Here they are:

• Eric Silvestri def. Robert Beatson
• Kyle Fields def. Jared Tidemann
• Caitlin Haney def. Katie Imburgia
• Anna Wortham def. Jamie Feldman

Which Friday result was most surprising?

The Sweet Sixteen!

The quarterfinals begin tonight. By this time tomorrow, the field will be whittled down to eight. Here are the matchups that will determine those semifinalists:

Friday (2/17)

• Eric Silvestri v. Robert Beatson (6 pm)
• Jared Tidemann v. Kyle Fields (7 pm)
• Caitlin Haney v. Katie Imburgia (8 pm)
• Anna Wortham v. Jamie Feldman (9 pm)

Saturday (2/18)

• Nathan Herbert v. Joseph Fuschetto (10 am)
• Michael Mattingly v. Justin Olson (11 am)
• Kellie Rockel v. Kyle Morrison (12 pm)
• Nate Harter v. Jason Howard (1 pm)

Quarterfinalists are set

Here are last night's results:

• Nathan Herbert def. Jessica Brierly-Snowden
• Joseph Fuschetto def. Nicholas Haering
• Kellie Rockel def. Patrick C. Thomas
• Kyle Morrison def. Rachel Lackert
• Michael Mattingly def. Brittany West
• Justin Olson def. John Adams
• Nate Harter def. Emily Hughes
• Jason Howard def. Andrew Proia

As always, the updated bracket is made available through the links at the top of the page.

First eight through to the quarterfinals

The first day's competition is in the books, and half of our Sweet Sixteen's set:

• Jared Tidemann def. Charles Eisenberg
• Kyle Fields def. Diana Marie Laventure
• Eric Silvestri def. Eli Stoughton
• Robert Beatson def. Samantha Johnson
• Anna Wortham def. Ryan Weiss
• Jamie Feldman def. Jared Chester
• Caitlin Haney def. Alan Bradin
• Katie Imburgia def. Lindsey Koenings

The second half will be determined shortly, with Day 2 about to begin. As always, feel free to post your comments below!

Octofinals are underway

Now that the competition is finally underway, it's time to start having some fun here. We'll be posting commentary and results on this site, but the most lively discussion is likely to come from you. To that end, we've opened the Comments section to all by allowing for anonymous posting.

The best format to use for discussion comments is the "Name/URL" option, which allows you to choose any name you like (you can just leave the "URL" section empty). This will allow for others to respond and comment on your posts while your true identity remains anonymous.

So have at it, and enjoy the ride!

Last call for brackets!

The brackets have been flowing in all day, and the competition looks to be a good one. In response to a few requests, we've updated the printable bracket link to a PDF format that allows you to type your selections directly on the page. So for all you last minute stragglers who still want to play, click here to download a copy, fill it out, and email it back to us at lawmoothandicapper@gmail.com by 6 PM. Don't miss out!

Bracket submissions due by 6 PM today!

The big day's here! For those in the loop, that means your bracket submissions need to be made by 6 PM today. Either hand-deliver a hard copy or drop us an email at lawmoothandicapper@gmail.com. Best of luck to all!