Moot Court

At UC Hastings, all first-year students take a Moot Court class in their spring semester. The moot court curriculum teaches students to competently perform complex legal research, draft persuasive legal writing, and make effective oral arguments. It is a cornerstone of the UC Hastings legal education, and consistently produces national champion moot court competition teams as well as expert, trial-ready litigators upon graduation.

Moot Court Classes

Moot Court topics are chosen from real cases pending before an appellate court or a supreme court. 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. Moot Court classes are taught by Adjunct Professors who practice law in the community. 

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

UC Hastings has one of the most successful and 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 the UC Hastings name. This year, the National Jurist stated that UC Hastings is the number one Moot Court team in the country. UC Hastings has placed among the top five teams in the country for the past four years.

Competition team members are selected from open tryouts held in the spring. The student team members are selected on the basis of a résumé, a writing sample, a 5 minute oral argument, and a short interview. UC Hastings Moot Court competition team members receive two units of credit for their participation. UC 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 the Intercollegiate Moot Court Competition teams each year. Moot Court competitions are a popular practical training experience in the UC Hastings curriculum because they provide excellent experience in legal research, analysis, writing, and oral advocacy, good contacts in the legal community, résumé 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. UC 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.

Each year, UC Hastings participates in numerous intercollegiate Moot Court competitions covering a wide range of current legal issues. During 2012 and 2013, UC Hastings will compete in 20 Moot Court competitions, both regional and national, throughout the United States.

Selected Past Achievements

In the 2011 to 2012 season:

• National Champions at the NAPABA Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
• National Champions at the Asylum and Refugee Law Moot Court Competition
• National Champions at the Evan A. Evans Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition
• State Champions at the Roger J. Traynor California Appellate Moot Court Competition
• Fourteen Brief Awards
• Twenty-two Oral Advocate Awards

In the 2010 to 2011 season:

• Gaining the No. 1 National Ranking
• National Champions at the Whittier National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition
• National Champions at the Asylum and Gender Refugee Law Competition
• National Champions at the Evan A. Evans Constitutional Law Competition
• National Champions at the Thurgood A. Marshall Memorial Competition
• State Champions at the Roger J. Traynor Competition
• Twenty-Two Oral Advocate Awards
• Seventeen Brief Awards

Complete List of Achievements 

Make a donation to the Moot Court Program

• Make an online gift.
  Instructions:
  Enter your gift amount and click the “Submit” button.
  If the information displayed is correct, click the “Checkout” button.
  To ensure that your donation reaches us, please type “Moot Court” in the comment box.
  Fill in the remaining information and click “Submit”.
• Send a check, indicating that the contribution is for the Moot Court Program, to:
  UC Hastings College of the Law
  Alumni Center
  Department 34063
  P.O. Box 39000
  San Francisco, CA 94139-0001
• Gifts made payable to UC Hastings College of the Law are tax deductible. The tax ID number is 94-2581680.
  Questions? If you have questions regarding your contribution to UC Hastings, please call the UC Hastings Alumni Center at (415) 565- 4665.
• Donate your time! Alumni participation is needed for:    
  - Judges for first-year Moot Court oral arguments, second-year Appellate Advocacy arguments, and practice arguments for competition teams.
  - Sponsors for Moot Court competition teams.
  - Coaches for Moot Court competition teams.
  - Community panel speakers.
  - Sponsors for the annual Moot Court Awards Banquet and other Moot Court events.  

Contact:
Toni Young
Moot Court Director
(415) 565-4729

Thank You for Your Generous Donations and Continuing Support!