Bartlit Center Trial Team Wins ABA Labor Law Competition

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Bartlit Center trial teams captured the top two spots in the American Bar Association’s Midwest Regional Labor Law Competition for the second year in a row.

Both Bartlit Center teams were undefeated going into the final round, in which the team of Joey Becker (JD ’18), Amanda Tzivas (JD ’19), Hannah Freiman (JD ’18), and Lane Lansdown (JD ’18) narrowly defeated the team of Brooke Troutman (JD ’18), Ben Koenigsfeld (JD ’18), Joey Mintz (JD ’18), and Beth Wurm (JD ’19).

In the preliminary rounds, the Northwestern Law students defeated teams from the University of Illinois (twice), Indiana University, Marquette University, the University of Missouri and Campbell University.

Under the leadership of Rob Robertson of Robertson Duric, this was the fifth time in the last seven years that Northwestern Law has won the Midwest Labor Law Competition. The team’s other coaches include Kendrick Washington (U.S. Department of Education), Mark Duric (Robertson Duric), Patrick Cordova (Jenner & Block), Brenna McLean (Jackson Lewis), and Michael Ovca (Edelson).

Robertson, the head coach, praised his students as “exceptional advocates who upheld the highest standards of professionalism and who excelled in every phase of trial lawyering.”

Steven Lubet, the Williams Memorial Professor of Law and director of the Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy, added, “the law school is fortunate indeed to have such outstanding coaches in Robertson, Washington, Duric, Cordova, McLean, and Ovca.”

Becker, Tzivas, Freiman, and Lansdown will compete for the national championship in January in New Orleans.