National Moot Court Competition

The National Moot Court Competition is one of the oldest moot court competitions in the United States. Co-sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers, the competition includes up to 191 teams from 124 law schools, who compete in regional competitions in November with the top two in each region advancing to the national competition held in the landmark House of the New York City Bar Association in February.

The National Moot Court Competition was created in 1947 by Harrison Tweed, then president of the New York City Bar Association, as part of a campaign to recruit younger members to the City Bar in the years following World War II.

The first competition was held at the City Bar’s building in January 1950. Twelve law school teams debated the legality of “rainmaking,” or the use by farmers of rainmaking devices to divert water from adjacent land. The program was formatted as a mock appeal, in order to develop the skills of appellate advocacy among law students.

In the years since, the moot court competition has expanded to include competitions in 15 regions throughout the continental United States. The cases argued traditionally focus on a timely issue arising under the United States Constitution, in keeping with the competition’s original theme of appellate advocacy. The final national competition continues to be held in New York, and the final argument between the top two teams is judged by a seven-person mock court, including prominent jurists, the president of the New York City Bar Association and the president of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

In both the regional and national competitions, all teams are required to argue the same single case on appeal. The case consists of two issues drawn from current legal issues that are likely to be considered by the Supreme Court in the near future. The cases are devised and prepared each year by the Young Lawyers Committee of the New York City Bar Association.

The National Moot Court Competition begins on the regional level. The United States is divided into fifteen regions, each of which hosts its own regional competition for teams whose law schools fall within their jurisdiction. Each fall, the New York City Bar Association invites all ABA-accredited law schools to field moot court teams of two to three students to participate in regional competitions. The regional winners and runners-up compete in a four-day national competition, as the 30-team field narrows to sixteen, eight, four, two, and ultimately one champion over the course of the competition.

...
Wikipedia