Drake’s ABA Moot Court Competition
Drake Law School’s ABA NAAC (National Appellate Advocacy Competition) Moot Court team competed in February in the regional competition that took place in Boston at the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Lamson Dugan & Murray law clerk Kelsey Schott was a member of the team. The team received their problem in November, submitted their brief in early January, and prepared for competition through January and February. Local attorneys and judges [...]
Partner Cathy Trent-Vilim Argues Three Separate Cases in Front of the Nebraska Supreme Court
During the Nebraska Supreme Court’s recent March and April sessions, Partner Cathy Trent-Vilim presented oral arguments in three separate cases. The first was an appeal defending healthcare professionals. In that appeal, Ms. Trent-Vilim argued the trial court properly granted a directed verdict in favor of the healthcare professional after the plaintiff could not establish his medical expert was sufficiently familiar with the local community where the medical services [...]
LDM Defends Trustee on Appeal
Lamson Dugan & Murray Attorney Ryan P. Tunink presented oral argument to the Iowa Court of Appeals on April 17, 2024, in an appeal defending the appointment of a trustee. The appeal is part of an ongoing intra-family dispute regarding the administration of a woman’s trust. In this specific appeal, Tunink argued that the district court correctly appointed his client as trustee in accordance with the terms of [...]
LDM Celebrates Drake Law’s Moot Court Advocacy
Attorney Ted Appel, current law clerk Kelsey Schott, and former law clerk Kendra Sparby were recently recognized by Drake Law School for their contributions to its Moot Court Program. Ted was made as an honorary member to the Order of Barristers, a national society whose purpose is to recognize special efforts and contributions to moot court programs in American law schools, for his volunteer work in judging moot court events [...]
LDM Defends Healthcare Providers on Appeal
Attorney Theodore T. Appel presented oral arguments to the Iowa Supreme Court on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in an appeal defending hospitals and healthcare professionals. The appeal involved Iowa Code section 147.140, known as the certificate of merit affidavit statute. This statute requires a plaintiff to provide an affidavit from a qualified medical expert early in litigation that verifies the allegations of medical malpractice. Failure to substantially comply [...]
Taking An Insurance “Award” at Face Value: When A Producer Stood His Ground
Recently, we handled a denial of insurance claim on behalf of a Nebraska Producer who experienced abnormally low yields as a result of an unprecedented drought. The Producer had a valid Federal Crop Insurance Policy and submitted a claim to his insurance company for the loss, using grain scale tickets, where the Producer noted which loads came from certain fields in accordance with the Loss Adjustment Manual (“LAM”), as evidence. [...]