Moot Report 2026: Major achievement at the Harold G. Fox Moot

The University of Manitoba Faculty of Law congratulates its Harold G. Fox Moot Team which won the overall competition as the Best Mooting Team in addition to The Donald F. Sim Award for Best Oral Advocate. Held February 20 and 21, 2026 in Toronto, the Fox Moot is named in honour of the late Harold G. Fox, one of Canada’s leading intellectual property scholars and advocates. Manitoba’s team consisted of Sameer Harris (3L), Jasmine Yakabowich (3L), Cole Cornies (2L), Eric Wagner (2L), and Marianne Hofmann (3L) (Researcher), and was coached by lawyers Kelsey Desjardine (Justice Canada), Julia Ryckman [JD/16] (Fillmore Riley), and John Myers [JD/90] (Taylor McCaffrey).

This year’s moot problem was quite difficult. As long-time coach John Myers explained, it dealt with complex questions concerning the validity of a patent that involved the use of a computer-implemented method with a second issue that asked if the patent was valid and infringed, how should the defendant’s profits be calculated for the purposes of disgorgement. “This win was a Team effort from start to finish,” said Myers. “While Jasmine and Sameer peaked just at the right time, their colleagues provided the very strong support they needed to prepare for the last two rounds. Our team made Robson Hall proud in the way they conducted themselves in the Court Rooms and at all of the events surrounding the competition.”

After filing written facta in mid-January, the team practiced their oral submissions before members of Manitoba’s Intellectual Property bar as well as patent agents, members of the Judiciary, and Assistant Professor Katie Szilagyi.

“At the competition, each of our mooters received comments from the Judges about their exceptional preparation and in particular their ability to take difficult questions from the Bench and answer them persuasively,” said Myers. “This was Robson Hall’s breakthrough year. Our mooters simply got better and better as the competition unfolded. Jasmine and Sameer made it to the semi-finals against a formidable team from the University of Toronto and went on to the finals against a polished team from the University of Ottawa before a panel of five Judges including the Chief Justice of Manitoba [The Honourable Marianne Rivoalen], Justices from the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Ontario Superior Court.”

Myers noted that researcher Marianne Hofmann made exceptional contributions to the team in her role, and additionally stepped in for an absent team member during a practice session with such proficiency, the judges would not otherwise have known she was an “understudy.”

Each student shared some insights into what drew them to intellectual property and the Fox Moot, and in what area they want to practice upon finishing law school.

Student Experiences

Jasmine

Intellectual property was a completely new area of the law for me. Because of that, I was interested to learn more. I had also heard amazing things about this moot in particular, which piqued my interest.

I am not yet 100% decided on what area I want to practice. That said, I plan to do civil litigation. Labour and employment law has been especially interesting. However, now that the moot has come to an end, I have found myself interested in patent litigation as well. Wherever I end up, I am confident it will be in the courtroom.

Sameer

I’ve always found intellectual property interesting for its intersections between the law and creative artistic endeavours. While I had no prior experience studying IP law, I thought the Fox Moot would be an effective way to learn more about this area of law and meet the many practitioners in this field.

I hope to practice within the broad area of corporate-commercial litigation. While I did not have IP litigation on my radar prior to the Fox Moot, this is an area of law I hope to explore further in the future. What the Fox Moot has confirmed for me is, that no matter what area of law I practice, I want to be in a courtroom as much and as often as possible.

Cole

I was drawn to the Fox Moot / IP Law because of how complex and dynamic this area of practice is. I wanted to see what it is like to work on an IP problem in order to get an impression of what it may be like to practice in this area in the future. Competing in the Fox moot was an incredible opportunity to work with highly experienced coaches and judges; I cannot imagine a better way to begin building an understanding of IP law (and develop advocacy skills generally). This experience has been the highlight of my law school experience to date.

I intend to practice within the umbrella of corporate-commercial law. I have a particular interest in practicing in IP law, or perhaps corporate transaction work. I expect my practice interests will be refined after gaining some first-hand experience this summer!

Marianne

The rapid development of technology, including AI, is what initially drew me to the Fox Moot and intellectual property law. This year's problem on patent law provided for some very interesting discussions around the subject matter of inventions involving technology, and I loved every minute of it!

Eric

Prior to law school, learning about copyright disputes involving music artists initially piqued my interest in the field. It wasn’t until after being a part of the Fox Moot that I realized how broad the scope of IP law truly was, from patents and trademarks to copyrights and everything else in between. My participation in the Fox Moot also [taught me] that intellectual property law is not static, but an ever-changing and fluid area of the law that will only become more important as technology continues to advance. I was also struck by how small but tight-knit the IP bar is across the country, which creates opportunities for growth, collaboration, and meaningful advocacy to shape how the law develops in Canada.

This summer, I am looking forward to working at an international corporate/commercial law firm, where I hope to try my hand at a broad range of practice areas, including mergers and acquisitions, litigation, intellectual property, and labour and employment. I am excited to experience several areas of practice in order to better understand what I enjoy the most, where I excel, and how I can continue to develop and expand my skills. I am especially looking forward to discovering areas of practice that may surprise me, much like intellectual property law did.

The team and coaches wish to thank the following lawyers, professionals, and members of the judiciary who assisted in the Fox Moot 2026:

Chief Justice Marianne Rivoalen; Dr. Katie Szilagyi (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law); Danielle Grzybowski (Fillmore, IP practitioner/solicitor); Ben Hackett (Goodmans, patent litigator); Rob Watchman (Pitblado, litigator and IP practitioner); Stacie Dunn (Patent Agent & Lawyer – Robics); Dean Giles (Fillmore, litigator); Dr. Mike Williams, Kyle Satterthwaite, and Ryan Dupuis (Patent Agents, Ade & Company); Michael Jason (Richardson International); and Maria Pepelassis (Robson Hall 3L student, 2026 Fox mooter).