3L Evan Matsuda was selected as Best Oral Advocate at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court World Championship in Paris, France. Evan and his teammate, 3L Jonathan Clark, were finalists in the competition, finishing second. The team was coached by alum adjunct professor Henry R. Hertzfeld, Research Professor of Space Policy and International Affairs in the Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School of International Affairs. This is the fifth time Prof. Hertzfeld has coached a team to the World Championship.
Both Tom McMurry, NASA Deputy General Counsel, and another international lawyer were not only present at the event but also did a practice moot with the team before the Final Round. They were very impressed and promised an event at NASA to celebrate the great performance. The attached photo from right to left is McMurry, Hertzfeld, Matsuda and Clark.
According to Professor Hertzfeld, "The bench was extremely hot and began asking tough questions even before anyone could get a full sentence out[.] ... Our team did exceptionally well[.]" Professor Steven L. Schooner chimed in as well - short and sweet - "Matsuda is my RA (and co-author) - he's terrific[.]"
Congrats to all!