University of Ottawa Students Prepare to Argue Legal Appeal Over Twitter

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 14, 2012) - Yana Banzen and Kowlasar Misir, two students at the University of Ottawa's Law School, are gearing up to participate in the world's first ever Twitter Moot, scheduled for 21st February at 1pm EST. The Twitter Moot, a project of West Coast Environmental Law, is essentially a mock-court appeal argued over the popular social media platform, Twitter.

"Competitive mooting on Twitter is novel and exciting," said Misir, explaining his participation. "It translates oral advocacy into cyber advocacy on a platform that demands precision. This is an interesting, perhaps even revolutionary, challenge."

Banzen was attracted by the environmental focus of the Twitter Moot.

"I am from Calgary - the energy capital of Canada - so it is only natural that I am interested in environmental and energy law issues," said Banzen. "But I have also been challenged to think about these issues by some of the amazing environmental law researchers at the University of Ottawa."

The appeal being argued, West Moberly First Nations v. British Columbia, raises issues related to the survival of an endangered caribou herd threatened by coal mining and ongoing industrial development. Banzen and Misir are representing the Treaty 8 Nations of Alberta, an intervener in the appeal.

Team Ottawa is sponsored by the firm of Ng Ariss Fong. Banzen and Misir will compete with teams from the Universities of Victoria, British Columbia, York and Dalhousie.

For more information about the Twitter Moot see www.wcel.org/twtmoot. The hashtag for the Twitter Moot event is #twtmoot.