On April 21, Penn Law students Stephen DeSalvo L’17 and Matt Lembo L’17 won the national championship of the 44th annual American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Giles S. Rich Moot Court.
The finals took place in Washington, D.C., where ten teams from around the country argued in front of a panel of three Federal Circuit judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Penn Law team faced off against the University of Utah in the final round.
Both DeSalvo and Lembo were named best oralist, and the team won best appellant brief at the national competition.
“Stephen and Matt have dedicated months of hard work to the complex field of appellate advocacy,” said Professor R. Polk Wagner, an expert in patent law and the team’s faculty advisor. “Their success is a testament to their commitment, preparation, and their advocacy skills.”
The team defeated the University of Houston in the semifinals and won best brief at the Southeastern Regional competition, which was held in Atlanta.
The annual competition is administered by the AIPLA, an association of intellectual property lawyers. The event is named in memory of Judge Giles Sutherland Rich, an influential figure in patent law.