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Home Office of Student Affairs Moot Court Competitions at SJQ

The College of Law provides numerous opportunities for students to participate in moot court competitions. Moot Court Competitions help students enhance their oral advocacy, legal research, and legal writing skills in a fun, collaborative, and competitive environment. Students may participate in multiple competitions, but should not compete in more than one competition in a nay semester. For more information about how to apply, please contact the team coaches or email competitions@law.utah.edu.

INTERNAL COMPETITION

Traynor Moot Court Competition

Traynor Moot Court has been the law school’s preeminent intramural competition for more than 50 years. Winners of the Traynor competition are invited to participate in the National Moot Court Competition. Teams of two research and write an appellate brief and participate in multiple rounds of oral argument. Eight teams advance to the quarter-final rounds. The two top-scoring teams advance to the final round. Preliminary rounds are judged by members of the local bar and judiciary. The final round is judged by the College of Law’s David T. Lewis Distinguished Jurist in Residence and two other prominent judges. Final rounds are generally held in April.

      • Course Availability: Spring Semester
      • Credit(s): 1 credit
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite: None
      • Application: None
      • Registration: Students may self-register.

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL COMPETITIONS

All-Star Bracket Challenge Trial Advocacy Competition

The All-Star Bracket Challenge allows students to develop and showcase their skills as trial lawyers. This is a tiered competition with regional rounds followed by national rounds

      • Course Availability: Fall Semester
      • Credit(s):  2 credits
      • Graded:  Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility:  3Ls
      • Prerequisite:  Trial Advocacy (LAW 7072)
      • Application:  By invitation only. Competitors are chosen by the Trial Advocacy instructor (LAW 7072). Students are notified in the summer.
      • Registration:  By permission code.
      • Team Size:  Two (2) teams of two (2) students.
Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial IP Moot Court Competition

The competition is an annual inter-law school event sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Students participate in an internal competition in January. The winning team from the internal competition will go on to compete in the regional competition.

      • Course Availability: Fall & Spring Semesters (year-long)
      • Credit(s): 2 credits overall (1 credit in the fall/1 credit in the spring); partial credit is not awarded.
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite: None
      • Application: None
      • Registration: Students may self-register.
      • Team Size: One (1) team of two (2) students.

Note:  Students should expect significant work over the Winter Break.

The National Moot Court Competition 

The National Moot Court Competition is an annual inter-law school event designed to promote the art of appellate advocacy. It is sponsored by the New York City Bar Association's National Moot Court Competition Committee and the American College of Trial Lawyers and is one of the longest-running and honored competitions of its kind. This historic competition allows student advocates to hone their appellate advocacy skills before prominent members of the legal profession. Every year, over 120 law schools compete in regional rounds throughout the United States, with winners advancing to final rounds at the New York City Bar Association. 

      • Course Availability: Fall & Spring Semesters (year-long)
      • Credit(s): 3 credits overall (2 credits in the fall/1 credit in the spring); partial credit is not awarded.
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite: Traynor Moot Court Competition
      • Application: Traynor Moot Court Competition winners are invited to apply.
      • Registration: By permission code.
      • Team Size: Two (2) teams of two (2) students, and with two (2) alternates.
Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is an advocacy competition for law students. Teams of law students compete against one another through the presentation of oral and written pleadings to address timely issues of public international law in the context of a hypothetical legal dispute between nations. Teams argue against competing teams before a panel of judges, simulating a proceeding before the International Court of Justice. 

      • Course Availability: Fall & Spring Semesters (year-long)
      • Credit(s): 2 credits overall (1 credit in the fall/1 credit in the spring); partial credit is not awarded.
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite/Co-requisite:  International Law (LAW 7270)
      • Application:  Interested students should contact Prof. Jacqueline Morrison.
      • Registration: By permission code.
      • Team Size: One (1) team of five (5) students.
National Trial Competition

The National Trial Competition (NTC) was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen students’ advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar. The program is co-sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. It is the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) intent to provide a meaningful contribution to the development of future trial lawyers.

      • Course Availability: Spring Semester
      • Credit(s): 2 credits
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 3Ls
      • Prerequisite: Trial Advocacy (LAW 7072)
      • Application:  Selected by the instructor of the Trial Advocacy Course (LAW 7072).
      • Registration: By permission code.
      • Team Size: Two (2) teams of two (2) students.
Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (aka Pace Moot Court Competition)

Instituted in 1989, the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC) is one of the nation’s largest interschool moot court competitions. This competition enhances and tests students' skills in appellate brief writing and oral advocacy using issues drawn from real cases to provide students with first-hand experience in environmental litigation. 

      • Course Availability: Spring Semester
      • Credit(s): 2 credits
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite:  None, but students should consider taking Traynor Moot Court (LAW 7098) or Appellate Practice (LAW 7097) prior to this competition.  
      • Application:  Applications open in summer, with selections made in late June.
      • Registration:  By permission code.
      • Team Size: One (1) team of three (3) students.
National Patent Application Drafting Competition

The competition introduces law students to issues arising in U.S. patent law and develops their patent application drafting, amending, and prosecution skills.

      • Course Availability: Spring Semester
      • Credit(s): 2 credits
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite: None, but Patent (LAW 7760) or Patent Drafting (LAW 7572) are recommended prerequisite or co-requisite courses. 
      • Application: Interested students should contact Prof. Jorge Contreras.
      • Registration: By permission code.
National Energy and Sustainability Moot Court Competition

The National Energy and Sustainability Moot Court Competition gives students an opportunity to enhance and test their appellate skills using problems focused on current issues in the energy industry. The competition is judged by energy industry professionals and government regulators. 

      • Course Availability: Spring Semester
      • Credit(s): 2 credits
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite:  None, but students should consider taking Traynor Moot Court (LAW 7098) or Appellate Practice (LAW 7097) prior to this competition.  
      • Application:   Applications open in summer, with selections made in late June.
      • Registration: By permission code.
      • Team Size: One (1) team of two (2) students.
National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition

The National Native American Law Student Association (NNALSA) Moot Court Competition is the only national law school competition that focuses on issues relating to Federal Indian Law and Tribal Nations. The competition simulates the appellate process before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

      • Course Availability: Spring Semester
      • Credit(s): 2 credits
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2L and 3L members of the S.J. Quinney College of Law National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA) Chapter.
      • Prerequisite:  None, but students should consider taking Traynor Moot Court (LAW 7098) or Appellate Practice (LAW 7097) prior to this competition.  
      • Application: Interested students should contact Dean Kronk Warner.
      • Registration: Students will receive a permission code.
Hispanic National Bar Association Uvaldo Herrera Moot Court Competition

The Uvaldo Herrera Moot Court Competition brings together 32 teams of law students from the nation’s top law schools to argue a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Teams of students draft appellate briefs and prepare for oral arguments to be presented before a panel of sitting or retired Judges. 

      • Course Availability: Spring Semester
      • Credit(s): 2 credits
      • Graded: Pass/Fail
      • Eligibility: 2Ls and 3Ls
      • Prerequisite:  None, but students should consider taking Traynor Moot Court (LAW 7098) or Appellate Practice (LAW 7097) prior to this competition.  
      • Application: Available in the fall.
      • Registration: Students will receive a permission code.
      • Team Size: One (1) team of three (3) students.