Moot Court Competition List

Fall Competitions

USD National Criminal Procedure

Overview:
The National Criminal Procedure Tournament is run by the University of San Diego Appellate Moot Court Board. Last year’s problem addressed two issues: whether the Sixth Amendment confrontation clause extends to statements made after a stabbing in a prison yard, and whether Miranda protections cover statements made during questioning in a prison setting.

Team Notes:
Hastings traditionally sends two 2-person teams to this competition.

Emory Civil Rights and Liberties

Location: Atlanta, GA
Briefs Due: September
Oral Arguments: October
Competition Website: http://www.law.emory.edu/current-students/moot-court-society/

Overview:
This year's competition featured a problem focused on current legal issues concerning civil rights and liberties. Specifically, the problem focused on whether a controversial airport regulation promulgated by the Transportation Security Administration violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and Equal Protection under the Fifth Amendment.  The rounds will be entirely judged by practitioners and judges.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends a 3-person team to this competition.

John Marshall International (Info Tech and Privacy Law)

Location: Chicago, IL
Briefs Due: September
Oral Arguments: October
Competition Website: http://www.itmootcourt.com/

Overview:
Established in 1981, the Moot Court Competition in Information Technology & Privacy Law has become one of the largest and most highly respected of all international moot courts. Students from law schools throughout the country and from outside the U.S. gather at John Marshall each year to brief and argue challenging and unresolved issues of technology law. Faculty and students participate in the development of each year's problem, and students from John Marshall's Moot Court Executive Board serve as bailiffs and assist with coordination of the competition.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends a 3-person team to this competition, with one person anchoring (i.e. arguing both sides of one issue) the team.

National Moot Court Competition

Location - Regional: Los Angeles, CA | Nationals: New York City, NY
Briefs Due: October
Oral Arguments - Regional: November | Nationals: February
Competition Website: http://www.abcny.org/LawStudents/MootCourt.htm

Overview:
The National Moot Court Competition is co-sponsored by the American Trial Lawyers Association and the New York City Bar Association.  It is one of the most prestigious moot court competitions in the country.  Over 150 schools compete in 14 regional competitions in the fall.  The top 2 teams from each region advance to the National rounds in New York in January.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends two 3-person teams to Nationals.  The competition is reserved for 3Ls who have experienced success in moot court competitions during their second year, and in particular for the winners of the school-wide Snodgrass competition.  The problems in the last couple years have been on difficult, technical questions of constitutional law and the level of competition at oral argument is quite challenging. 

Pepperdine National Entertainment Law

Location: Malibu, CA
Briefs Due: September
Oral Arguments: October
Competition Website: http://law.pepperdine.edu/organizations/moot_court/entertainment_law.html

Overview:
The Pepperdine University School of Law National Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition, held in the fall in Malibu, California, provides an opportunity for law students to explore the issues of intellectual property law.  Each year twenty-four teams travel from all over the nation to argue entertainment law and intellectual property law issues before some of the best entertainment lawyers in Los Angeles and 9th Circuit Federal Judges.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends a 3-person team to this competition.

Thomas Tang National Competition

Location - Regional: Los Angeles, CA | Nationals: Las Vegas, NV 
Briefs Due: September
Oral Arguments - Regional: October | Nationals: November
Competition Website: http://www.napaba.org/napaba/showpage.asp?code=moot

Overview:
Tang is administered by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).  The Competition is open to all students but is especially designed to reach out to APA law students and provide them with an opportunity to showcase their writing and oral advocacy skills and compete for scholarships totaling $10,000.  Topics typically involve constitutional law issues.  This year's problem dealt with two issues: whether a employer’s inaction led to a hostile work environment qualified as retaliation under Title VII and whether a park ranger’s actions could be characterized as excessive force.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends two 2-person teams to the Tang competition.

Spring Competitions

Stetson International Environmental Law

Location – Regional: Santa Clara, CA | Nationals: Gulfport, FL
Briefs Due: November
Oral Arguments – Regionals: January | Nationals: March
Competition Website: http://www.law.stetson.edu/environmental

Overview:
This competition provides an excellent opportunity for law students to explore issues of international environmental law in the context of a dispute before the International Court of Justice.  The participants’ memorials (i.e. briefs) are evaluated by international environmental experts selected with the assistance of the ABA International Environmental Law Committee and the International Ocean Institute.  Oral arguments are evaluated by local attorneys and judges with experience in international law, environmental law, and appellate advocacy.  U.S. teams must compete in the International Qualifying Rounds to determine which teams will advance to the International Finals.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends one 3-person team to this competition.

University of Houston National Competition

Location: Houston, TX
Briefs Due: December
Oral Arguments: January
Competition Website: http://www.law.uh.edu/blakely/mcnc/homepage.html

Overview:
The inaugural competition for this “anti-nationals nationals” event will be in January, 2009.  The University of Houston has invited the top 16 moot court schools from across the nation for an exciting tournament of champions.  The topic and format of the competition is still to be determined.

Team Notes:
Hastings will be sending a 2 or 3 person team to this competition.

Jessup International Law

Location – Regional: Santa Clara, CA | Nationals: Washington, D.C.
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments: February/March
Competition Website: http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/

Overview:
Jessup is an international law advocacy competition founded in the spring of 1959 by a group of law students from Harvard University, Columbia University and the University of Virginia.  Oral and written pleadings are presented on timely issues of international law and argued as before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands.  It has grown to include approximately 30% of all law schools worldwide.  Previous problems include: 2003 – The Case Concerning Wartime Rape and Sexual Slavery; 2002 – The Case Concerning Internet Rights; 2000 – The Case Concerning Vaccine Trials.

1,500 students from nearly 400 law schools in almost 50 nations participate.  Approximately 60 teams advance to the International Rounds in Washington, D.C.  Other countries represented at the Finals included: Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belarus, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, PR China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Liberia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan R.O.C., Turkey, Ukraine, UK, Venezuela, West Indies.

Although the Jessup Competition was established to test oral and written skills, it has also become a fraternity of legal professionals. Former participants, judges and other supporters worldwide banded together several years ago to found the Friends of the Jessup, and they continue to serve as judges, coaches and fund-raisers. It is a great opportunity to meet other students looking to specialize in international practice.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends one 4-person team to this competition.

Asylum and Refugee Law

Location: Davis, CA
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments: January
Competition Website: http://students.law.ucdavis.edu/mootcourt/asylummootcourt.shtml

Overview:
The competition is the only immigration law moot court competition on the West Coast, and the only one in the nation devoted exclusively to the topic of asylum and refugee law.  It offers students the chance to test their advocacy skills against distinguished attorneys and legal scholars who will be serving as judges for the competition.  This year’s problem examined whether a citizen of El Salvador could seek asylum in the United States due to her fear of persecution from her former and gang and her government in her home country.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends one 2-person team to this competition.

Tulane Sports Law

Location: New Orleans, LA
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments: February
Competition Website: http://www2.law.tulane.edu/mootcourt/index.html

Overview:
The Tulane law school hosts a moot court competition in New Orleans each spring during the last week of Carnival leading up to Fat Tuesday.  The competition is based on a contemporary legal problem confronting the sports industry.   The final rounds are argued in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in downtown New Orleans.  Tulane is largely a 'speaking' competition – brief scores are used to seed teams and as tie-breakers, but generally do not count for advancement.

Obviously, this is a fun competition that takes place during Mardi Gras.  New Orleans has a really laid-back feel, a creole culture, amazing food, and a libertine persona.  The competition takes place over several days, so teams have a lot of time to explore the city, gather beads, and experience the French Quarter, Garden District, and Uptown.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends one 3-person team to this competition.

Whittier Juvenile Law

Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments: February
Competition Website: http://groups.msn.com/WLSmootcourt/

Overview:
Whittier Law School and the Center for Children's Rights hosted the 11th Annual National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition.  Over the past decade, participants have tackled controversial questions relating to child abuse, paternity, siblings’ rights, in vitro fertilization, and the institutionalization of minors. The event remains the only national competition dedicated exclusively to issues confronting families and children.

This year's problem presented a minor's constitutional claims against a social worker.  The minor alleged that her fundamental rights under the Fourteenth Amendment were violated when the defendant social worker placed her in the custody of her mother while knowing or having reason to know that her mother's boyfriend was violent and likely to do her harm. The minor, who sustained permanent injuries at the hands of her mother's boyfriend, brought suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Team Notes:
Hastings has now competed in this competition twice and both times has won Best Brief.  Hastings usually sends one 2-person team to this competition.

Cardozo Entertainment Law

Location: New York City, NY
Briefs Due: February
Oral Arguments: March
Competition Website: http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10442&contentid=2938

Overview:
The BMI Entertainment Law competition, held at Cardozo Law School in New York, involves copyright and trademark issues surrounding entertainment and music law.  This year's topic involved a website that was setup by a fan on fanatic.com that streamed a predefined playlist of an artist’s music and used an auction-style mechanism to resell that artist’s clothing and perfume products.  At issue is whether this site violated the artist’s copyright and trademark interests.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends one 2-person team to this competition.

Evans Constitutional Law

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Briefs Due: March
Oral Arguments: March
Competition Website: http://www.law.wisc.edu/students/mootcourt/

Overview:
Judge Evans, an 1899 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1916 to 1948.  The University of Wisconsin Law School Moot Court Board honors the career of Evan A. Evans by inviting schools to argue constitutional issues in the hope of living up to his high standard of appellate advocacy.   Judge Evans, noted during his years of private practice for both his brief-writing and his outstanding oral advocacy, left as his legacy a standard of excellence in the field of appellate advocacy which inspired the dedication of this competition.  This year’s problem addresses whether a town’s ban on “saggy pants” violates the First Amendment and/or the liberty interest under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends two 2-person teams to this competition.

Kaufman Securities Law

Location: New York City, NY
Briefs Due: February
Oral Arguments: March
Competition Website: http://law.fordham.edu/ihtml/mc-2kaufman.ihtml?id=318

Overview:
The Kaufman Securities Law Moot Court Competition offers students the opportunity to test their appellate advocacy skills before distinguished members of the judiciary and securities practioners from the leading New York firms, investment banking houses, and federal and state agencies.  Oral argument takes place at Fordham Law School in New York over a three day period.  This year’s final panel included Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Judge Morton Greenberg and Judge Jane Roth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Judge Boyce Martin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends one 3-person team to this competition.

Lefkowitz Trademark Law

Location - Regional: San Francisco, CA | Nationals: Washington, D.C.
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments - Regional: February | Nationals: March/April
Competition Website: http://www.inta.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1295&Itemid=242&getcontent=4#lefkowitz

Overview:
The Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Law Moot Court Competition was established in 1990 by the Brand Names Education Foundation in honor of Saul Lefkowitz, a former Chairman of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The competition introduces law students to issues arising in United States Trademark and unfair competition law. Among recent topics: the use of a product's trademark by a new user over the objection of the prior owner of the abandoned mark. The winning team from each of the 4 regional rounds advances to the national rounds in Washington, D.C.

Team Notes:
Hastings traditionally sends one 3-person team to this competition.

Maritime Law

Location: New Orleans, LA
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments: March
Competition Website: http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/advocacy/admiralty/

Overview:
The Honorable John R. Brown served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1955 until his death in 1993, and was one of the nation's most prominent admiralty judges.  Each year, the John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition is held under the joint sponsorship of The University of Texas School of Law and a local host school.  This year’s problem include issues of admiralty jurisdiction and limitation of liability for cruise ship doctors.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends one 3-person team to this competition.

National Appellate Advocacy (NAAC)

Location - Regional: Boston, MA | Nationals: Chicago, IL
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments – Regional: February | Nationals: March
Competition Website: http://www.abanet.org/lsd/competitions/naac/home.html

Overview:
The ABA Law Student Division's National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) emphasizes the development of oral advocacy skills through a realistic appellate advocacy experience. Competitors participate in a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The competition involves writing a 40-page brief as either respondent or petitioner and then arguing the case in front of the mock court.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends two 3-person teams to NAAC.

Pace Environmental Law

Location: White Plains, New York
Briefs Due: December
Oral Arguments: February
Competition Website: http://www.pace.edu/lawschool/environmentalm/

Overview:
Since 1989, student advocates from across the United States and Canada have participated in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. The competition attracts in excess of 200 competitors from diverse law schools and 200 attorneys who serve as judges for three days of oral arguments, to create a rigorous academic experience.

Recognized as the preeminent environmental law competition in the United States, this eventinvolves issues drawn from real cases and provides first-hand experience in environmental appellate litigation.  The competition is distinctive in that three adverse teams argue the issues, reflecting the fact that environmental litigation frequently involves multiple parties: the government, a public interest group and a member of the regulated industry. Previous legal problems have included illegal dumping of hazardous waste, vicarious criminal liability of corporate officers for their company's environmental crimes, and commerce clause limits on water pollution regulation.

Team Notes:
Hastings usually sends one 3-person team to this competition.  Preference is given to those with an interest or background in environmental law.

Prince Evidence Law

Location: Brooklyn, New York
Briefs Due: February/March
Oral Arguments: April
Competition Website: http://www.brooklaw.edu/students/princemoot2008/

Overview:
The Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition provides an opportunity for participants to write an appellate brief on a current, controversial evidence topic, and to argue the case before a distinguished panel of judges.

The Prince competition takes place in New York in the late spring, and teams generally travel for 4-7 days.  The brief-writing process is very long, but the competition starts shortly after the briefs are due, which doesn't leave a whole lot of time to practice oral arguments.  The competition is known for being professionally run, and for providing great hospitality to the competitors, including an end-of-competition party at Tavern on the Green!

Team Notes:
Hastings generally sends a 3 person team to this competition.

Rendigs Products Liability Law

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Briefs Due: March
Oral Arguments: April
Competition Website: http://www.law.uc.edu/academics/moot_rendigs.shtml

Overview:
The August A. Rendigs, Jr. National Moot Court Competition is the only national competition exclusively devoted to Products Liability law. The competition honors Mr. August A. Rendigs, Jr. (1895-1988), one of Cincinnati’s most respected trial lawyers. He was known for his thorough preparation, jury presence, advocacy skills, and his extraordinary integrity. Throughout his career, Mr. Rendigs recognized the importance of a quality legal education and expressed a firm commitment to aiding law students to become the best our profession has to offer.

Team Notes:
Typically, Hastings sends two 3-person teams to this competition.

Traynor State Championships

Location: Northern CA
Briefs Due: February
Oral Arguments: April
Competition Website: http://www.witkin.com/pages/traynor_pages/important_info.htm

Overview:
Traynor is a competition that deals exclusively with current trends in California law.  The problem is drawn from a real case in the California Court of Appeal. Witkin selects a case from that court because it is the appellate court where the majority of California lawyers appear most frequently; making this competition of great practical value, as students get to brief and argue a case from that court.  The issues in the actual case are always closely contested, and neither side is favored for purposes of the problem.

Team Notes:
Hastings sends 1, 2-person team to this competition.

Wagner Labor & Employment Law

Location: New York City, NY
Briefs Due: January
Oral Arguments: March
Competition Website: http://www.nyls.edu/pages/315.asp

Overview:
Each spring, the New York Law School's Moot Court Association administers the Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition.  For thirty years, as many as fifty schools from across the country have competed in this prestigious event.

The Wagner Competition is the nation’s largest student-run moot court competition and the only national competition dedicated exclusively to the areas of labor and employment law.  The Moot Court Association sponsors this competition in honor of the late United States Senator, Robert F. Wagner, distinguished alumnus of New York Law School

Team Notes:
Hastings sends one 3-person team to this competition.