Environmental Moot Court Competition Team Wins Jefferey Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

In an exciting first, Minnesota Law’s Environmental Moot Court Competition Team won the Jeffrey Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace Law School. The winning team includes Maria Pfister ’24, Poojan Thakrar ’24, and Hanna Weil ’24. All have backgrounds in pursuing environmental law expertise. Pfister is pursuing an Environmental and Energy Law Concentration, Thakrar competed on the Environmental Moot Court Competition team last year, and Weil is a veteran of the Environmental Moot Court course.

The team is coached by Rachel Kitze-Collins ‘14 and Emily Polachek, two local experts on environmental law. Kitze-Collins is a Partner at Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP, litigating environmental, business, and employment cases. Polachek is an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Crimes Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Minneapolis Office, where she serves as the Environmental Crimes Coordinator. Kitze Collins and Polachek have coached the team for several years, with notable success at their last three competitions.

The competition was hosted by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and is one of the largest moot court competitions in the country — by far the largest environmental law moot court competition. This year’s problem involved a regulatory commission’s proposed gas pipeline that transgressed land held by a religious organization. The problem also required students to argue on behalf of three parties - the regulatory commission, the gas company, and the religious organization.

“We are so proud of these three outstanding students, who worked incredibly hard to prepare for this competition,” the coaches remarked. “It is always gratifying to witness the progress our students make over the year; by the time they compete, they can make excellent arguments in front of federal judges and go toe-to-toe with experts in environmental and energy law. This team not only developed and honed their oral advocacy skills but also worked together as a tight-knit unit, which undoubtedly contributed to their success. We can’t wait to see what Maria, Poojan, and Hanna do with their law careers!”

Polachek and Kitze-Collins added, “Thank all our friends and colleagues who have guest-judged our argument practices over the years!”