This wonderfully unique program was first launched in January of 2023 and returned again this year with a full program, complete with 24 mooters arguing a mock appeal based on one of 2024’s most important cases, R. v. Bykovets.

Our mooters were gowned and ready to go all day, arguing their appeals in front of 18 Justices drawn from the Court of Appeal for Ontario, our Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice.

The Rosenberg, as it’s come to be called colloquially, is an exceptional program for a host of reasons, including that it is experiential, rather than competitive and is also entirely barrier free. There are no try-outs and no “winners” or “losers.” The Program aims to provide intensive mentorship from highly respected and experienced appellate lawyers to newer calls (7 years at the bar and under) who might otherwise not have ready access to such opportunities. And it allows mooter mentees to receive direct feedback from real judges including many on our top Court.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario provides the history and mandate of the program on their website in their post about the inaugural Rosenberg Moot, held in 2023 here:

For more about the Rosenberg generally see my post with WiCCD’s YouTube interview here:

And my Law360 article from 2023 here:

I had also blogged about the Inaugural Program in January of 2023 here

We kicked off this year’s program with a Keynote address from Justice Coroza and a Demonstration exercise by Sarah Rankin and Nader Hasan on January 9. More on that here:

The Program is indebted to our 25 Mentors and Mentors in Training – all distinguished, talented appellate criminal lawyers and expert coaches:

Mentors and Mentors-in-Training

·  Myles Anevich

·  Gerald Chan

·  Grace Choi

·  Jennifer Conroy

·  Stephanie DiGiuseppe

·  Katie Doherty

·  Omar Ha-Redeye

·  Nader Hasan

·  Meaghan Hourigan

·  Ian Kasper

·  Tracy Kozlowski

·  Diana Lumba

·  Naomi Lutes

·  Carter Martell

·  Maija Martin

·  Lisa Matthews

·  Elena Middelkamp

·  Deepa Negandhi

·  Susan Reid

·  Amanda Ross

·  Angela Ruffo

·  Marianne Salih

·  Sarah Shaikh

·  Megan Stephens

·  Breana Vandebeek

·  Ghazala Zaman

·  Jessica Zita

And of course, as at the Inaugural Rosenberg Moot, I had the sincere privilege of organizing the event together with my wonderful colleagues Anna Trbovich (ONCA) and Dena Bonnet (CLOC)

These photos of the three of us were taken by the amazing Vita Cooper https://www.vitacooper.com/

This last photo and the others inside the Courthouse I took on moot day walking about in the hallways alone, taking it all in. I never, ever tire of Osgoode Hall and when it’s quiet with nobody immediately around, it’s a profound silence in a historic place. I like to think of all the generations of lawyers before me and all who will come well after, their jitters before Court, their relief when it’s over and the thrill of the occasional win when justice triumphs above all. The traditions that will continue so long as the Rule of Law lives and prevails. So long as democracy survives.

Court of Appeal For Ontario’s Official News Page here: