McConnell Scholar alumnus wins Harvard Law School competition

Louisville, Ky. (December 13, 2023) – McConnell Scholar alumnus Eric Bush, alongside his fellow teammates, recently won Harvard Law School’s prestigious Ames Moot Court Competition.

Ames, one of the nation’s most distinguished moot court programs, is an appellate brief writing and oral advocacy competition among Harvard Law School students.

Bush’s team beat out over 50 other teams to reach the finals, defending their legal arguments in front of a distinguished panel of jurists, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

As a McConnell Scholar, Bush competed with the McConnell Center’s moot court team, which he says helped prepare him for Ames.

“Participating on the McConnell Center’s moot court team was instrumental to my team’s success in Ames,” Bush said. “It was on the Center’s moot court team that I learned the structure of these oral arguments and how to read a case. I think that gave us a real advantage over the other teams whose members did not have that opportunity.”

Bush joins notable Ames winners of the past, including current Solicitor General of the United States Elizabeth Prelogar and the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, among others.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Eric and his accomplishments,” said McConnell Center Director Dr. Gary Gregg. “Our moot court team takes a lot of time, effort, and financial resources but Eric is a great example of the impact our program can have on the next generation of legal and political leaders.”

The McConnell Center’s moot court team is limited to undergraduate McConnell Scholars at the University of Louisville. The team has enjoyed continued success at regional and national levels as part of the American Moot Court Association, engaging in theoretical and legal constructs in simulated appellate court cases.

Founded in 1991, the non-partisan McConnell Center at the University of Louisville seeks to identify, recruit, and nurture Kentucky’s next generation of great leaders. Our core principles – leadership, scholarship, and service – guide us as we (1) prepare top undergraduate students to become future leaders; (2) offer civic education programs for teachers, students, and the public; and (3) conduct strategic leadership development for the U.S. Army.