Forget the Vancouver Olympics for a moment – York’s Osgoode Hall Law School has its own gold medal-winning team.
Law students Jeremy Barretto, Melody Mirzaagha and Christine Van Geyn faced off against 17 schools from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia Feb. 14 to 19 in the International Criminal Court Trial Competition in The Hague, Netherlands – and won the competition.
The team, coached by adjunct Professor Leo Adler and Danny Auron (JD ’09), won all four sections of the competition. The crew won preliminary rounds (written memorial and oral submissions) and finals (oral only) at New York’s Pace University two weeks ago and again in The Hague.
As at the Pace University finals, the final round in The Hague pitted Osgoode against 
Yale University and the University of Miami. Van Geyn, Barretto and Mirzaagha took home the prosecutor trophy and best memorial prize in The Hague, adding to their best prosecutor and best defence memorial awards from Pace.
Right: The Osgoode team in front of the Peace Palace in The Hague, from left, Melody Mirzaagha, Christine Van Geyn, Danny Auron, Jeremy Barretto and Leo Adler
In other mooting news, the Osgoode team of Jillian Chuchryk, Lisa Feldstein, Darren Hall and Sheldon Inkol, and their coaches, adjunct Professor Leanne Shafir and Professor Emeritus Fred Zemans, placed third at the Fifth International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Commercial Mediation Advocacy Competition in Paris Feb. 5 to 10.
It was Osgoode’s first time in the competition, and the first time a Canadian team placed among the final eight teams. Forty-four law schools from 18 countries participated in the competition, which was won by Nottingham Trent University.
Left: The Osgoode team competing at the Fifth ICC competition in Paris, from left, Lisa Feldstein, Darren Hall, Leanne Shafir, Sheldon Inkol and Jillian Chuchryk
Assisting the teams were Professor Paul Emond, and Allan Stitt and Bob Thompson. Support for the trip was provided by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario and of Canada, Jack Chisvin, Elaine G. Frank, Delee Fromm, Allan Miller, Chanakya Sethi, Lukasz Szymura, Brett J. Tkatch, Deborah Zemans, Joyce Zemans, and the legal firms of Deeth Williams Wall LLP, Epstein Cole LLP, and Mann & Partners LLP.