Law 697:  Moot Court

Moot Court is an experiential appellate advocacy course conducted in the fall (two hours) and spring (two hours) semesters.  Enrollment is by invitation only.  Students will be invited in one of two ways:

Internal Moot Court Competition (Fall semester)

First, students may be invited following an audition generally conducted during the fall semester; the audition is open to 2L, 3L, and LLM students only.  The students selected during the fall semester audition process will then be eligible to enroll in moot court and compete in external moot court competitions in the spring semester and subsequent semesters. 

Performance in Law 793: Advanced Legal Writing: Appellate Advocacy (Fall semester)

Second, the student in each section of Advanced Legal Writing:  Appellate Advocacy with the highest score for the course will be invited to participate in the Frederick Green Honorary Round Moot Court (“Honorary Round”), which will be heard by a panel of distinguished judges from across the country during the spring semester immediately following their Advanced Legal Writing:  Appellate Advocacy. Students who participate in the Honorary Round will be enrolled in Moot Court during the semester in which they compete in that competition and are eligible to enroll for subsequent semesters.

Students enrolled in Moot Court may participate in external competitions; the particular external competitions available during each semester or year will vary.  With the exception of students competing in the Honorary Round, each moot court member will participate in at least one external moot court competition per enrolled semester at either the national and regional level.  Moot Court members will write or contribute to one or more appellate briefs per semester, and may participate in at least one appellate argument per semester.  Per ABA Standard 310, in order to earn two credit hours per semester, each student must account for 90 hours of time.  Participation in moot court provides hands-on experiential training for future lawyers.  It also offers student development in prevailing over practical challenges that lawyers typically face in a modern legal practice.

Sequence and Prerequisites:  Required prerequisites for JD students: Law 609: Introduction to Legal Writing and Analysis and Law 610: Introduction to Advocacy. There are no required prerequisites for LLM students. While it is not required, Law 793: Advanced Legal Writing: Appellate Advocacy is highly recommended.

Evaluation:  The course will be evaluated on written work, oral presentations, and providing assistance and feedback to other students enrolled in moot court during structured sessions and activities.  The credit will be earned on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.

Course Classification: Experiential