On March 26, 2022, Catholic Law’s Moot Court Association hosted the Fifth Annual Ellen A. (Nell) Hennessy Employee Benefits Competition, co-sponsored by the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Teams competed before experienced judges and law practitioners and addressed current employee benefits issues. This year's problem challenged competitors to consider whether plan participant data is a plan asset under ERISA as well as the extent of plan administrators' fiduciary duties with respect to cybersecurity.

Catholic Law welcomed teams from across the country to compete virtually in the event. This year’s roster of teams included: ● The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law ● Drexel University Kline School of Law ● Georgetown University Law Center ● University at Buffalo School of Law ● University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School ● University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law ● University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law ● West Virginia University College of Law

After several hard-fought rounds, Madeleine Coles and Theresa Trenholm from the University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law went on to win over Meaghan Mahoney and DeEdward Edwards from the University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School. It was an impressive day of competition.

The Vice-Chancellor of the Fifth Annual Nell Hennessy Moot Court Competition, Timothy Richard (3L), represented on behalf of Catholic Law. He shared, "Arguing in a virtual format is not easy but all of our competitors stepped up to the challenge and wowed our judges in each round. I'd also like to thank the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel for again partnering with Catholic Law to host this competition, the ACEBC Fellows for volunteering to judge briefs and oral arguments, and the Moot Court Board for helping make this competition happen." The Law School also wished to extend a special thank you to LexisNexis for their sponsorship of the Best Brief and Best Team awards. This is their third year sponsoring the competition.

Best Team
University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law
Madeleine Coles and Theresa Trenholm

Second Best Team
University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School
Meaghan Mahoney and DeEdward Edwards

Best Oralist
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Josephine Gale

Best Brief
University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law
Madeleine Coles and Theresa Trenholm

Second Best Brief
West Virginia University College of Law
Alexis Schneider and Cameron LeFevre