The first moot of the 2025 – 2026 season was the renowned Solomon Greenberg trial moot competition. This year, the competition took place on November 22, 2025, at the Winnipeg Law Courts. Winner Priya Kaur Dhillon (3L) and runner-up Jasmine Yakabowich (3L) will go on to represent Manitoba at the MacIntyre (Western Canada) Cup to be hosted at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, from February 13-15, 2026.

Eight law students enrolled in the mandatory Introduction to Advocacy course in their second year are then selected to participate in the Solomon during their third and final year of law school. These students pair up and are divided into Crown and Defence teams, with their own set of lawyers to coach them, along with two volunteer law students as witnesses per team. This year’s teams were as follows:

Trial # 1

Crown Team 1: Derek Zaporzan & Nicole Dohler
Witnesses: April Li & Brittany Windsor-Brown
Coaches: Dayna Queau-Guzzi & Adam Gingera [BA/10; JD/16]

Defence Team 1: Kaitlyn Clarke & Brett Yager
Witnesses: Emily Trottier & Gilad Stitz
Coaches: Carley Mahoney [JD/16] & Caleigh Glawson [JD/19]

Trial #2

Crown Team 1: Alexander Kraus & Esther Adegbesan
Witnesses: Riley O’Hara & Maria Pepelassis
Coaches: Amy Wood, Melissa Hazelton [LLB/10], Sara Minshull

Defence Team 2: Jasmine Yakabowich & Priya Dhillon
Witnesses: Eric Matthews & Brannen McKenzie-Lefurgey
Coaches: Evan Roitenberg [LLB/91] & Laura Robinson [LLB/09]

Each group conducts a mock criminal trial where the accused is to be tried by judge and jury. Competitors argue to a jury that is composed of the witnesses, judges and coaches. The trials are assessed by volunteer provincial court judges. This year’s assessors include Judge Tim Killeen (presiding), Retired Judge Raymond Wyant, Judge Kusham Sharma and Judge David Ireland. Before the Faculty of Law’s Director of Clinics, Elizabeth McCandless [LLB/07; LLM/20] announced the winners on behalf of the judges, the Honourable Judge Wyant made note that, every year choosing a winner is difficult and this year was no exception. 

The Solomon’s fierce competition simply wouldn’t be the same without the volunteer coaches whose dedication shapes the students’ success. The winners of this year’s competition, attribute this accomplishment to the time and energy their coaches dedicated to helping them develop their advocacy skills.

Robson Hall’s Solomon Greenberg trial moot competition is a longstanding tradition, reaching back over 60 years at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law. Named in honour of a Winnipeg lawyer who was considered one of the best criminal defence lawyers in Western Canada, the moot honours the late Solomon Greenberg. Well-respected by both his clients and colleagues, he was known as a courtroom legend in his own time. Learn more about Greenberg’s life on page 133 of Norm Larsen’s book Notable People from Manitoba’s Legal History.

Team members Maria Garcia Manzano (3L) who won Robson Hall’s Solomon Greenberg intramural trial advocacy competition on November 16, 2024, and co-counsel Harlan Morris (3L), were runners-up to the University of Alberta first-place team at the Western moot. Both teams went on to represent Western Canada at the Sopinka Cup, held in Ottawa, Ontario, on March 14 – 15, 2025.

Team Manitoba was coached by Laura Robinson [LLB/09] and Evan Roitenberg [LLB/91] of Wolson Roitenberg Robinson Wolson, and Adam Gingera [BA/10; JD/16] of Manitoba Justice Prosecutions Service.

The Honourable Douglas Abra [LLB/72], retired Justice of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench (and a past winner of the MacIntyre Cup himself), presided over the trials, with a team of six assessors deciding the winners. The Honourable Ryan Rolston [LLB/99], Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba presented the prizes at the awards dinner following the competition’s conclusion.

The University of Manitoba Faculty of Law hosted the 2025 Western (MacIntyre) Cup at Robson Hall. Members of the Manitoba practicing legal community generously contributed their time and skills to act as assessors and coaches. Photo by Jenna Chemerika.

The MacIntyre Cup awards dinner coincided with the Canada-US Four Nations Cup hockey game, so in true Canadian form, Robson Hall organizers ensured the game was played on a large screen in the room, much to the relief of many Moot competitors and coaches who are also irredeemable hockey fans. It was “a very Canadian moment,” said Elizabeth McCandless [LLB/07; LLM/20], Director of Clinics at Robson Hall.

McCandless extended special thanks to Faculty of Law administrative staff person Jenna Chemerika who worked very hard to organize all logistics and details of the MacIntyre Cup to make the competition a success.

Sopinka Cup

The final leg of the Trial Advocacy competition journey for Team Manitoba was at the Sopinka Cup, which is where East meets West. The winning eight teams from four regional competitions in Canada meet in Ottawa each year. These competitions include the Western (MacIntyre) Cup, the Arnup Cup (for Ontario Universities), the Guy Guérin Cup (Quebec), and the McKelvey Cup (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia).

Garcia Manzano and Morris shared some of their experiences at the national event, where all 16 students competing were presented with plaques to commemorate reaching the national level – “a remarkable accomplishment in itself,” Garcia Manzano explained. “It was an incredible experience to compete against some of the most talented advocacy teams in the country, and we’re proud to have represented the University of Manitoba on the national stage.”

She added, “We were fortunate to be guided by outstanding coaches whose mentorship was unparalleled for both the MacIntyre and the Sopinka Cup. They pushed us to grow, challenged us constantly, and – even though they tried to convince me to pursue a career in litigation – I know the advocacy skills they taught me will serve me will in the corporate-commercial practice I plan to build.”

“Competing in the MacIntyre and Sopinka Cups were undoubtedly the highlight of my time in law school,” said Morris. “Seeing the final product after the countless hours we put into preparing for our trials was by far the most rewarding experience in my three years at Robson Hall.”

Garcia Manzano will be articling at Fillmore Riley LLP throughout the next 12 months, while Morris will article with the Crown at Manitoba Justice, Public Prosecutions.

The Sopinka Cup was established in 1999 in honour of late Supreme Court of Canada Justice John Sopinka, a long-time Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, which runs the competition. In 2018, MacIntyre Cup winners Yassir Al-Naji [JD/18] and Ben Johnson [JD/18] took second place and won “Best Closing Argument” at the Sopinka Cup. Kevin Toyne [BA/00; LLB/03] and Jennifer Malabar [LLB/03] won the Sopinka Cup in 2003.

Left to right: Runner-up Nadine Plourde and first-place winner Maria Garcia Manzano.

Two trials were run this year with two sets of Crown and Defence teams consisting of third-year law students, along with two volunteer law student witnesses per team. Moot coordinator and the Faculty of Law’s Director of Clinics, Elizabeth McCandless said, “We are very grateful to our volunteers – we couldn’t run the trial without our judges, coaches, and witnesses.”

Provincial court judges acting as assessors included Judge Tim Killeen (presiding), the recently-retired Judge Raymond Wyant, Judge Kusham Sharma, and Judge David Ireland.

Participants were as follows:

Trial #1

Crown Team 1: Maria Garcia Manzano and Danielle Rabichuk
Witnesses: Moira Kennedy and Kaitlyn Clarke
Coaches: Dayna Queau-Guzzi and Adam Gingera

Defence Team 1: Marco Imbrogono and Liam Brown
Witnesses: Alessandro Imbrogno and Keerat Bhullar
Coaches: Evan Roitenberg and Laura Robinson

Trial #2

Crown Team 2: Sydney Newman and Harlan Morris
Witnesses: Mitchell Klippenstein and Brittany Windsor-Brown 
Coaches: Chantal Boutin, Amy Wood and Matthew Armstrong

Defence Team 2: Nadine Plourde and Maureen Friesen
Witnesses: Ashley Allan and Taylor Sholdice 
Coaches: Carley Mahoney and Caleigh Glawson

Robson Hall’s in-house trial moot has a long and illustrious history at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, reaching back nearly 60 years, with winners including students who have gone on to become Court of Queen’s Bench Judges, Ministers of Justice and a former Dean of Law, and Chancellor of the University of Manitoba in the example of Harvey Sector, C.M., O.M. [BComm/67, LLB/92, LLD/22].

The Solomon Greenberg Moot was named for a well-respected Winnipeg lawyer who was considered one of the best criminal defence lawyers in Western Canada. Greenberg was born in Odessa, Russia in 1894, immigrated with his family to Canada in 1911, and registered at the Manitoba Law school after graduating from St. John’s High School in 1915.

Greenberg was thought of as legendary in the legal community, and was a hero to his clients who were mostly of modest means. He died of a heart attack in 1958 while running a trial, and in 1964, his widow made a donation to the Faculty of Law to provide a prize for the student judged to be the best presenter in the annual Solomon Greenberg Moot Court Competition. The Manitoba Bar Association later contributed more funds to also support a prize for the competition’s first-runner up. More information about Greenberg’s life can be found in Norm Larsen’s book Notable People from Manitoba’s Legal History at page 133.

Read more about past winners of the Solomon Greenberg Moot in “Related Stories” below.

Decide they did, however, and Tyson Priebe was declared the winner with runner-up Noah Scatliff. The two will represent Robson Hall in the Western Canada Trial Moot (aka the MacIntyre Cup), which will be hosted early in 2024 by the University of Alberta. Finalists from that competition will proceed to the national trial moot, the Sopinka Cup, typically held in Ottawa.

Robson Hall’s in-house trial moot has a long and illustrious history at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, reaching back nearly 60 years, with winners including students who have gone on to become Court of Queen’s Bench Judges, Ministers of Justice and even former Dean of Law, and Chancellor of the University of Manitoba – in the example of Harvey Sector, C.M., O.M. [BComm/1967, LLB/1992, LLD/2022].

The Solomon Greenberg Moot was named for a well-respected Winnipeg lawyer who was considered one of the best criminal defence lawyers in Western Canada. Greenberg was born in Odessa, Russia in 1894, immigrated with his family to Canada in 1911, and registered at the Manitoba Law school after graduating from St. John’s High School in 1915. Greenberg was thought of as legendary in the legal community, and was a hero to his clients who were mostly of modest means. He died of a heart attack in 1958 while running a trial, and in 1964, his widow made a donation to the Faculty of Law to provide a prize for the student judged to be the best presenter in the annual Solomon Greenberg Moot Court Competition. The Manitoba Bar Association later contributed more funds to also support a prize for the competition’s first-runner up. More information about Greenberg’s life can be found in Norm Larsen’s book Notable People from Manitoba’s Legal History at page 133.

Director of Clinics, Elizabeth McCandless said, “We are very grateful to our volunteers – we couldn’t run the trial without Judge Tim Killeen, Judge Raymond Wyant, Judge Kusham Sharma, and Judge David Ireland. The students were supported by lawyer coaches who devoted their time leading up to the trial: Adam Gingera and Dayna Queau-Guzzi for the Crown; Evan Roitenberg and Laura Robinson for the Defence.”

Read more about past winners of the Solomon Greenberg Moot.