Inter-school moot court competitions are excellent opportunities to enhance research, writing, and oral advocacy skills. Students work in teams to develop a persuasive analysis of a sophisticated legal problem and must master the contours of an entire area of law to be successful. Cases are assigned to teams to prepare (1) a written brief and (2) oral arguments for both sides before a mock appellate panel. Winning teams thoroughly address both sides of their case and demonstrate masterful understanding of an area of law.
All moot court team members are expected to be in upper-level students* in good academic standing and must commit to remaining in Boston during the term(s) in which the team is preparing for the competition. Many competitions have a 3L preference, and strong academic standing and commitment are required.
*Applicants must be in upper-level courses in the fall and spring terms. Flex JD students may not be eligible until their third year in the JD program.
Sponsorship
Sponsored competitions are those that have a full-time faculty member who is committed to overseeing the application processes and to coaching a team. The presence of a specific competition on the 2022-2023 Competitions page indicates a coach’s willingness to work with a team in the upcoming academic year. However, a coach may opt to not run a moot court team if they do not believe that they have received qualified applicants who would be well-prepared for the competition, or for any other reason at their discretion.
Members of teams selected for these competitions are guaranteed to receive funding through the OSD program to attend their competitions. Please see the OSD Finance page for more information.
2022-2023 Competitions
Sponsored Competitions
National Appellate Advocacy Competition – due July 18, 2022
Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition – application closed
Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition – application closed
Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition – more information to be announced
Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition – application closed
Don’t see your competition? Click here.
Credit
Participants in school-sponsored competitions must devote substantial time and effort to researching, writing, and preparing for oral arguments or advocacy. In recognition of the effort required to participate in these competitions, the faculty advisors have agreed to award participants up to three (3) independent study credits for the experience, provided the entire team satisfactorily (i) completes the required written submission, (ii) participates in a number of rounds of practice argument, and (iii) attends and participates in the competition. In addition, participation may result in a written product that can be used to fulfill the ABA upper-level writing requirement.