Esther Clark Competition

The Moot Court Board organizes and administers the annual intra-scholastic Esther Clark Moot Court Competition. Second-year Moot Court Board members compete in the Esther Clark Competition to maintain their position on the Moot Court Board. The Esther Clark Competition requires advocates to author an appellate brief and compete in a series of arguments against their fellow second-year Moot Court Board members. The final round of the Esther Clark Competition is argued before the justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, who ultimately decide the winner.

27th Annual Esther Clark Competition

Photos from the 27th Annual Esther Clark Competition Finals, held at the Rhode Island Supreme Court on October 27, 2022.

Pia Piscitelli (Winner & Runner Up Best Brief)

Hilary Levey Friedman (Best On and Off Brief)

27th Annual Competition Winners

About Esther Clark

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The Esther Clark Competition is named after a
deceased RWU Law professor, who joined Roger Williams Law faculty during its second year and taught Criminal Procedure and Evidence. Professor Clark's impact on students went well beyond the classroom. Students voted Professor Clark “outstanding faculty member of the year” five times throughout her teaching career at Roger Williams. She believed that teaching was a twenty-four hour a day passion that went well beyond when students graduated. Professor Clark continued to assist her students after graduation.

Esther Clark graduated law school from Rutgers University Law in 1955. She was one of only two women in her class. She was also an associate editor of Law Review at the law school. After her graduation from law school, Clark became a criminal trial attorney at a time when there were very few women in that field.

Professor Clark’s determination and passion helped get RWU Law to where it is today. She helped the school grow and more importantly, helped pave the way for women in the profession of law. In recognition to her contributions to the School of Law, the Moot Court Board named the 2L Competition in her memory.

Esther Clark Competition Winners

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Year	Winner	Finalist	Best Brief	Best Overall Oral Advocate	Best On and Off Brief
2007	Tyler J. Smith	---	Kyle Rocha	---
2008	Craig Graham	---	Hala Furst	---
2009	John Meara	---	Robert Cavanagh	---
2010	Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye	---	Ezra Willey	---
2011	Nicholas Nybo	---	Christa Harris	---
2012	Antonio Massa Viana	Thomas Pagliarini	Jeffrey Sheehan	---
2013	Daniel Reilly	Sydney Kirsch	Christopher Fragomeni	---
2014	Brett Beaubien	John Ryan Henry	Edward Pare	---
2015	Katherine Berling	Lindsey Langella	David Revens	---
2016	Sean Clough	Grace Dzilenski	Alexandra Rawson	---
2017	Ryan Gallagher	Allison Regan	Brenna Riley	---
2018	Crystal Peralta	Luis Vargas	Luis Vargas	Caitlyn Forrester-Johnson
2019	Erin Ferry	Amanda Nagim-Williams	Celina Andrade	Sophia Weaver
2020	Jill Magnus	Amanda Tramonte	Amanda Tramonte	Jill Magnus
2021	Noelle Soares	David Braga	Julissa Arce	Penelope Murphy
2022	Pia Piscitelli	Morgan Alger	Michaela Conley	Aicha Elola	Hilary Levey Friedman