<p>Delaware&rsquo;s only law school will open its doors Thursday, March 27 to students from 23 law schools around the country for a national interscholastic moot court competition.<br /><br />The much-anticipated 20th annual Ruby R. Vale Interschool Corporate Moot Court Competition will run four days and introduce participants to the cutting edge of corporate law. The competition is hosted by Widener University School of Law&rsquo;s Moot Court Honor Society under the direction of the Society&rsquo;s executive board and competition chairperson Kara Donoghue.<br /><br />The Distinguished Scholar Lecture is an integral part of the competition and the Society is honored to have Brian G. Cartwright, Esq., general counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission as this year&rsquo;s speaker. He will deliver a speech titled &ldquo;The role of the states &ndash; foreign and domestic,&rdquo; on Friday, March 28 at 4 p.m. in the Ruby R. Vale Moot Courtroom in the main law building.<br /><br />The competition advisors include Lawrence A. Hamermesh, the Ruby R. Vale professor of corporate and business law and director of the school&rsquo;s Institute of Delaware Corporate &amp; Business Law, and Widener Law Professor Paul Regan. Hamermesh authored this year&rsquo;s competition problem. It involves an application by the S.E.C. to use a relatively new amendment to the Delaware Constitution, which permits the Delaware Supreme Court to answer questions of Delaware law certified to it by the S.E.C. The problem raises important corporate governance issues relating to the power of stockholders to limit a board's ability to adopt anti-takeover devices.<br /><br />&ldquo;The law school&rsquo;s location in the corporate law capital uniquely positions Widener to host a first-class event. We have a sophisticated bench and bar who have a special closeness to the subject matter and have been generous in giving of their time and expertise to support this <br />competition,&rdquo; Donoghue said. &ldquo;I look forward to welcoming tomorrow&rsquo;s corporate legal minds to our school.&rdquo;<br /><br />The final competition round will be judged by Mr. Cartwright, Delaware Supreme Court Justices Jack B. Jacobs and Henry duPont Ridgely, Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor Donald F. Parsons, Jr. and former Delaware Supreme Court Justice Joseph T. Walsh. <br /><br />The competition is named for Ruby R. Vale, who lived in Milford, Del. and practiced law in Philadelphia. The law school is grateful to the Vale family and for the opportunities their generosity has made possible, such as this national competition. This year&rsquo;s competition participants come from the following law schools:</p>
<ul>
<li>American University Washington College of Law</li>
<li>Brooklyn Law School</li>
<li>College of William and Mary &ndash; Marshall Wythe School of Law</li>
<li>DePaul University College of Law</li>
<li>Emory University School of Law</li>
<li>Franklin Pierce Law Center</li>
<li>Georgetown University Law Center</li>
<li>Marquette University Law School</li>
<li>Mercer University &ndash; Walter F. George School of Law</li>
<li>Mississippi College School of Law</li>
<li>Ohio State University &ndash; Michael E. Moritz College of Law</li>
<li>Quinnipiac University School of Law</li>
<li>Southwestern University School of Law</li>
<li>Tulane University School of Law</li>
<li>University of Detriot Mercy School of Law</li>
<li>University of Maine School of Law</li>
<li>University of Miami School of Law</li>
<li>University of Oregon School of Law</li>
<li>University of Virginia School of Law</li>
<li>University of Wisconsin Law School</li>
<li>Valparaiso University School of Law</li>
<li>Western State University College of Law</li>
<li>William Mitchell College of Law</li>
</ul>
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