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Moot Court Program

KU Law has an extensive moot court program with a long tradition of success and excellence! Students' first experience in moot court will come in their spring semester Lawyering class. All students will write a summary judgment brief and engage in an oral argument before a "judge" (a law professor). [moot court photo]

For students interested in practicing and advancing their moot court skills, KU offers a variety of opportunities. All second-year students are eligible to compete in KU's Second-Year In-House Moot Court Competition (LAW 960). This is a one-credit course in which teams write an appellate brief and give a mock argument before the "U.S. Supreme Court." Winners of the competition receive the Robert C. Foulston and George Siefkin Prizes for Excellence in Appellate Advocacy. The top eight teams in the competition form KU's Moot Court Council and represent KU in various national and international moot court competitions.

Moot Court Council members may compete in any of the following competitions: University of San Diego National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Tournament; Herbert Wechsler National Criminal Law Moot Court Competition; American College of Trial Lawyers National Moot Court Competition; Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition; Vanderbilt National First Amendment Moot Court Competition; Duberstein Bankruptcy National Moot Court Competition; European Law Students International Trade Moot Court Competition; and the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition. To participate on these national and international teams, law students must compete in the Second-Year In-House Competition.

Additional competition opportunities exist for interested students including the Jessup International Moot Court Competition (coached by Professor Head), the NALSA Moot Court Competition (coached by Professor Leeds), the ABA Mediation Competition (coached by Professor Ware), the ABA Client Counseling Competition (coached by Professor Hickman-Clark), and the ATLA Trial Competition (coached by Professor Prater). Some of these competitions are open to first-year students. Contact the individual coaches for details.