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Two teams of聽 students will compete in the national championship of the American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Philadelphia.

The teams are advancing after winning their final round of the regional competition in San Francisco, which were held聽Feb. 29-March 2.

This rare accomplishment marks the fourth time in the last 15 years that McGeorge is sending two teams to the national finals in the most prestigious moot court competition in the country. The national round of the competition will be held April 4-6.

McGeorge School of Law鈥檚 moot court program is consistently ranked among the best in the nation. McGeorge was recently聽ranked as the No. 10 moot court program in the nation for its success during the fall 2023 semester, according to聽rankings published by the University of Houston Law Center.聽McGeorge finished second among the 18 American Bar Association-approved law schools in California.

At the regional competition, the team of third-year law students Francia Ordu帽o 鈥�24, Alex Leshnick 鈥�24 and Danielle Fatta Diele 鈥�24 was awarded the prize for the Best Brief. Ordu帽o was also named Best Oralist.

"My experience at the competition was a whirlwind, in the best way possible,鈥� Ordu帽o said. 鈥淚t was the culmination of months' worth of hard work and dedication, and I felt extremely honored to take part in this competition alongside such brilliant and talented teammates."

Third-year law students Morgan Graber 鈥�24 and Ava Sutton 鈥�24 also won their final round of the regional competition.

鈥淲e worked very hard and practiced a lot, but the fact that two of the four regional champion teams are from McGeorge is such a testament to聽,鈥� Graber said. 鈥淲e are so excited to compete alongside other top teams from schools across the country.鈥�

The teams were coached by Professor聽 鈥�08, Maricar Pascual 鈥�16, Paige Davidson 鈥�19 and third-year law student Katherine Pollack 鈥�24. Second-year law student Marino Dominguez 鈥�25 was the research assistant for the teams.

鈥淚 am incredibly proud of our two McGeorge teams who advanced to the national finals,鈥澛燙roxall said. This competition is generally considered the most prestigious and most competitive in the country. Both teams are among the best I鈥檝e ever coached in the last seven years. They put in the work, and they absolutely crushed it.鈥�

McGeorge students competed alongside 31 other law schools in the regionals.

鈥淥ur success at the regional competition came down to two factors: the Global Lawyering Skills program and the support of our faculty and alumni. I am thankful to be a part of this team and look forward to representing McGeorge at the national competition,鈥� Diele Fatta said.

The top four teams from each of the six regional competitions advance to the final rounds. The success of the McGeorge teams places them among one of the top 24 law school teams nationally.

鈥淭he regional competition was a great experience to compete with such a talented and dedicated team. I'm looking forward to representing the continued excellence of the McGeorge Moot Court Program in Philadelphia,鈥澛燣eshnick said.

The National Appellate Advocacy Competition聽emphasizes written and oral advocacy skills through a realistic appellate advocacy experience. Competitors participate in a hypothetical appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which involves writing a brief as either petitioner or respondent and then arguing both sides of the case in front of the mock court.