Moot Court

Spring semester, first-year students take the Moot Court class and learn complex legal research, persuasive legal writing, and effective oral argument.

Moot Court Classes
Moot Court Board
Moot Court Competition Team

Awards and Honors
The Hastings Appellate Project (HAP)

Make a Gift to the Moot Court Program

Moot Court Classes

Moot Court topics are chosen from real cases pending before an appellate court or a supreme court. The students work with an actual record, research the law, and write an appellate brief on behalf of one of the parties. The experience culminates in a formal oral argument before a three-judge panel. Students list preferences for their Moot Court topic at the conclusion of the first semester, choosing among at least a dozen options, and the Moot Court Department assigns topics that correspond to student choices.

Moot Court Board

Successful completion of the Appellate Advocacy class entitles second- and third-year students to join the Moot Court Board. Moot Court Board members:

• Act as teaching assistants in both the first-year Moot Court classes and the Appellate Advocacy classes
• Attend organizational and informational meetings
• Hold office hours and provide personal assistance to students enrolled in Moot Court and Appellate Advocacy
• Serve as coaches for oral arguments

Moot Court Competition Team

Hastings has one of the most successful and most well-respected Moot Court programs in the United States. The success of the Moot Court competition teams continues to add to the tradition of excellence that is synonymous with Hastings. This year, the National Jurist stated that Hastings is the number one Moot Court team in the country. Hastings has placed among the top five teams in the country for the past four years.

Each year Hastings participates in numerous intercollegiate Moot Court competitions covering a wide range of current legal issues. During 2011-2012, Hastings will compete in 20 Moot Court competitions, both regional and national, throughout the United States.

Achievements in the Fall of 2011 of the #1 Nationally Ranked Hastings Moot Court Competition Team included:

• National Champions at the NAPABA Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
• National Finalists (2nd Place) at the NAPABA Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
• National Finalists (2nd Place) at the Pepperdine University School of Law National Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition
• International Quarterfinalists at the Marshall Information Technology and Privacy Law Moot Court Competition
• National Octofinalists at the National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition
• Regional Champions at the NAPABA Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
• Regional Finalists (2nd Place) at the NAPABA Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
• Regional Semifinalists at the National Moot Court Competition
• Five Brief Awards
• Three Oral Advocate Awards

Achievements of the 2010-11 #1 Nationally Ranked Hastings Moot Court Competition Team included:

• Gaining the No. 1 National Ranking
• Winning the National Championship at the Whittier National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition
• Winning the National Championship at the Asylum and Gender Refugee Law Competition
• Winning the National Championship at the Evan A. Evans Constitutional Law Competition
• Winning the National Championship at the Thurgood A. Marshall Memorial Competition
• Winning the State Championship at the Roger J. Traynor Competition
• International Quarterfinalists,  Stetson International Environmental Competition
• National Semifinalists, Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition 
• National Semifinalist, Marshall Technology and Privacy Law Competition
• National Semifinalists, Houston Moot Court National Championship
• National Semifinalists, Whittier National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition 
• National Quarterfinalists, Cardozo Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition
• National Quarterfinalists, Pace National Environmental Law Competition
• National Quarterfinalists, Tulane Mardi Gras Competition
• National Quarterfinalists, Robert F. Wagner Labor and Employment Law Competition
• National Octofinalists, San Diego Criminal Procedure Competition
• National Octofinalists, Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition
• Regional Champion, Jessup International Law Competition
• Regional Semifinalists, National Appellate Advocacy Competition
• Regional Quarterfinalists, National Moot Court Competition 
• Twenty-Two Oral Advocate Awards
• Seventeen Brief Awards

Competition team members are selected from open tryouts held in the spring. The student team members are selected on the basis of resume, writing sample, a 5 minute oral argument, and a short interview. Hastings Moot Court competition team members receive two units for their participation. Hastings pays all travel costs, including airfare, food and hotel, for competitions held outside of the Bay Area.

More than 200 students try out for Intercollegiate Competition teams each year. Moot Court competitions are a popular practical training experience in the Hastings curriculum because they provide excellent experience in legal research, analysis, writing, and oral advocacy, good contacts in the legal community, resume value, and a great sense of accomplishment, teamwork, and school spirit.

We are enjoying another year of remarkable success thanks to our hardworking and extremely talented students, adjunct faculty, coaches and judges, who are active participants in training and supporting our student competitors at every level. Hastings has established itself as a Moot Court competition winner and we will continue to build on its reputation as a powerhouse in Moot Court and a prominent training ground for future litigators! 

The Hastings Appellate Project (HAP)

Third year students with advanced advocacy and litigation skills may participate in the Hastings Appellate Project, which offers real-life appellate advocacy opportunities at the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Under the supervision of Gary Watt, appellate practitioner and HAP Director, the students assume responsibility for all aspects of appellate litigation, including briefing, document filing, calendaring, client correspondence, and oral argument on behalf of actual litigants proceeding pro se before the court. 

Since its inception in 2009, students enrolled in HAP have represented real clients in cases involving:

• Immigration proceedings;
• Section 1983/wrongful arrest;
• Employment law;
• Foreclosure and housing rights;
• Prisoner civil rights.

The Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Program refers cases to HAP where the court believes that an attorney's involvement will benefit the court by more effectively representing the claims of pro se litigants.

Students enrolled in HAP may receive three units of academic credit (two in the fall, one in the spring) or special recognition at graduation for pro bono service.  To apply for HAP for the 2011-2012 academic year, please download the application form below and follow the instructions.  Please note, only 3L students who have previously taken Appellate Advocacy may apply.  Contact Stephen Tollafield, tollafie@uchastings.edu, with any questions or for more information.

2011-2012 HAP Application