Romine Wins Award for Appellate Advocacy
While Assistant Dean Monte Smith watched Tiffany Romine and Chad Eggspuehler argue a case recently in the regional competition of the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Boston, he knew he was witnessing something special.
“About five minutes into Tiffany's first argument, I had this rush of adrenaline as I realized that I was watching a perfect moot court argument,” Assistant Dean Smith said. “I thought she was flawless and probably gave the two best moot court performances I have ever seen.”
Tiffany, a third-year law student, walked away from the 91-student competition with the fifth place award for best advocate, an award that Assistant Dean Smith said was quite an accomplishment. Chad received an eighth place award.
Tiffany, a Columbus native, said that she knew that she wanted to join moot court even before she began law school.
“I want to be a litigator,” she said. “I knew that moot court would help me develop my skills.”
And Tiffany knew that she wanted to be an attorney long before she applied to law school. Tiffany said that it was in the second grade that she decided she would pursue the career. It was then that she realized the success of her grandmother, who worked for an attorney. “My grandmother worked for an attorney that I admired and respected; she had a huge impact on my decision,” she said.
Tiffany attended Ohio University as an undergraduate and said that Ohio State was the obvious choice to earn her law degree.
After her first year at Moritz, she worked in the Columbus office of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP. Last summer, Tiffany split her time between the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office and work for a Columbus solo practitioner.
Following graduation, she will work in the appellate division of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. “I really enjoyed my appellate advocacy class taught by Professor Beazley,” she said. Tiffany has been involved in several groups and activities since arriving at Moritz. In addition to moot court, she has helped on the Black Law Students Association and the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law.
She thanked Moritz’s other appellate advocacy team, Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton ’90, and other professors who helped her and the team prepare for the Boston regional.
“Dean Smith was really a great coach,” she said. “He taught me a lot and was supportive throughout the entire process.”
