by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
This Friday at the U.S Courthouse
at Jacksonville, law students from
the universities of Florida and Georgia will compete in the 23rd Annual Hulsey Kimbrell moot court competition.
The event was started by attorneys by Mark Hulsey and Charles Kimbrell.
“It’s an excellent way for law students to get a first-hand experience in the courtroom and to present their arguments to real judges,” said Matt McLaughlin, an associate at Smith, Hulsey & Busey, who’s coordinating the event. “The line of questioning and the intensity in there is very representative of what really happens.
“We also encourage alumni from both schools to come and watch.”
And McLaughlin said it’s no coincidence the competition is taking place before the Florida/Georgia football game this weekend.
“Traditionally we have it before on the Friday before the game,” he said. “And it always takes place in the Federal courthouse. This is the first year we’ve had it in the new building.”
For the past two years, Georgia law students have won the competition — teams are scored based on the ruling of five judges — but McLaughlin said, in the long run, it’s not such a bad thing.
“There’s a running joke that when Georgia wins at the courthouse; Florida wins on the field,” he said.