Law School’s Keedy Cup Finals 2021 to be held virtually
Named in honor of late Law School Dean Edwin R. Keedy (1880-1958), the Edwin R. Keedy Cup Competition is the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s intramural moot court competition. In non-pandemic years, this event draws the entire Law School to see two teams of students argue before three federal judges. This year, in adherence to COVID-19 precautions, arguments will be held virtually.
Each year’s Keedy Cup Finals represents years of preparatory groundwork and participation in three elimination rounds. The four finalists progress from round to round, having impressed the judges at each stage with their ability to prepare briefs and argue cases.
The Keedy Cup Competition
The Keedy Cup Competition is open to all 2Ls and is held during the spring. In the preliminary rounds, students write briefs in a pending United States Supreme Court case and argue before a panel of practicing lawyers and judges. Those who advance to the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds argue the same case before new panels of judges.
The top four finalists in the second-year competition then argue in the Keedy Cup Finals in January of their 3L year. They brief and argue a new case before a panel of distinguished judges from across the country.
The Keedy Cup Competition is produced by the Law School’s student Moot Court Board whose members, working together, choose the cases, organize and administer the preliminary-round arguments, and prepare bench memoranda for the judges. The Keedy Cup’s faculty advisor is Director of Moot Court and LLM Practice Skills, Legal Practices Skill Lecturer Gayle Gowen L’98.
The Keedy Cup 2021
The 2021 competition is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 as a virtual Zoom event. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.
This year’s finalists, arguing for the Petitioner, are Michelle Wang L’21 and Sean Bender L’21, while Kellen McCoy L’21 and Sarah Best L’21 will be arguing for the Respondent.
This year’s case is Collins v. Mnuchin, which deals with the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), a federal agency that was created to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after they required billions of dollars in federal bailout money because of their over-investment in risky mortgages.
In this year’s 2021 Keedy Cup, the finalists will argue two questions:
(1) Whether the structure of the FHFA violates the separation of powers; and
(2) Whether the court must set aside a final FHFA action and strike the for-cause provision if the FHFA for cause provision is found to be unconstitutional.
Read more about Keedy Cup 2021.
