The Chicago-Kent College of Law appellate advocacy team of Javier Ortega Alvarez ’19, Alida Pecanin ’18, and Rebecca Quade ’19 placed second in the 2018 Frank A. Schreck Gaming Law Competition, held March 9–11 at the University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law.

From left: Rebecca Quade, Alida Pecanin, Javier Ortega Alvarez

In addition, Quade earned individual honors as the competition’s best oral advocate, and Taylor Brewer, who competed on another Chicago-Kent team, was named the competition’s second-place best oral advocate.

From left: Rebecca Quade and Taylor Brewer

Twenty-six teams, many from some of the nation’s top advocacy programs, competed in the tournament, which focuses on emerging issues at the intersection of gaming law and regulation. This year, students argued a hypothetical case involving an appeal from a patron of a fictional casino who claims he was discriminated against for gambling while under the influence of marijuana.

Both Chicago-Kent teams excelled in the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds and survived the tough cut to the semifinals. Ortega Alvarez, Pecanin, and Quade prevailed against a team from McGeorge School of Law in the semifinals before squaring off in a close final round with the team from Villanova that won the competition. Brewer and his teammates, Colin Pochie ’18 and Jin To ’18, fell to Villanova in the semifinal round.

Ortega Alvarez graduated from Florida State University with a degree in art history and economics. Pecanin, an Honors Scholar at Chicago-Kent, earned a bachelor’s degree in politics from New York University. Quade, also an Honors Scholar, majored in political science with a pre-law concentration at DePaul University.

Third-year students Anna Ceragioli and Anna Lee coached Ortega Alvarez, Pecanin, and Quade. Third-year students Miles Kelson, Cody Lipke, and Matthew Loffredo coached Brewer, Pochie, and To.

The Frank A. Schreck Gaming Law Moot Court Competition is co-sponsored by the William S. Boyd School of Law’s Society of Advocates Moot Court Team and the UNLV Gaming Law Journal. Frank A. Schreck, namesake of the competition, is chair of the Gaming Law Group at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP and is a former president of the International Association of Gaming Attorneys.

Chicago-Kent’s Ilana Diamond Rovner Program in Appellate Advocacy, the umbrella program for many of the law school’s moot court activities, was established in 1992. Since then, Chicago-Kent students have won numerous individual honors and regional and national competitions, including consecutive titles in the New York City Bar Association’s National Moot Court Competition.