As February drew to a close, Catholic Law virtually hosted eight teams at this year’s 27th Annual National Telecommunications and Technology Moot Court Competition (NatTel). Among those competing were the Catholic Law second-year duo, Chris Huff and Joseph Kane. After two days of presenting well-prepared arguments and close competition, Huff and Kane walked away with a hard-earned second-place finish.

For over a quarter of a century, NatTel has featured relevant prompts regarding technology, intellectual property, and telecommunications, written by experienced attorneys in the field. This year’s teams were presented with a problem focused on contact tracing and data collection—a particularly relevant topic given the ongoing global pandemic. While the prompt incorporated a fictional contact tracing app, it presented a complex and salient legal issue. Huff shared, “Technology and the law will remain intertwined for as long as the two coexist, and NatTel reflected that principle well.” Kane added, “I think telecommunications is a particularly interesting area of the law. Communication technologies are important to all our lives, but they also change quickly and often present fascinating legal and policy issues. The intersection of engineering and technological issues with more traditional legal principles makes it a lot of fun.”

Leading up to the competition, Huff and Kane worked together to prepare the arguments. Their hard work and dedication led to their success in the competition, ultimately coming within half a point of the first-place finishers. While reflecting on their experience, Kane shared, “The competition was a great experience to research and argue administrative and constitutional law issues. I learned a lot. Chris was a great teammate, and the judges and other competitors also did an awesome job of making the argument challenging and fun.” Huff also noted the high level of competition present at this year’s event. He said, “It was an honor to compete in the NatTel Moot Court Competition before so many distinguished legal professionals in their roles as judges. We were proud to represent our law school by reaching the final round for the first time in several years. Our fellow competitors really rose to the challenge posed by the remote environment, where arguing over video can lead to even more up-close and personal scrutiny than in previous years!”