Benefits of Moot Court
Training and Experience
Opportunities to gain experience in appellate advocacy are difficult to come by for both lawyers and law students. The UCI Law Moot Court Competition provides second and third year students a valuable opportunity to hone both their written and oral advocacy skills in this competitive field.
The competition includes a robust training program to provide all participants with valuable training, experience, and feedback. Prior to receiving the case problem for the competition, participants receive training on written appellate advocacy. Teams then work together to research and write an appellate brief for a case based on contemporary legal issues. After submission of briefs, competitors receive additional training on oral advocacy from experienced Supreme Court advocates. Competitors then have the opportunity to participate in practice oral arguments and receive substantive feedback prior to the opening rounds of the competition.
Once the competition begins, each competitor gets the opportunity to argue their case before at least two panels of distinguished members of the bench and bar. Competitors also have the opportunity to participate in practice oral arguments and receive substantive feedback on their oral arguments prior to the opening rounds of the competition. Additionally, as with written advocacy, competitors receive additional training on oral arguments for appellate cases.
Marketability
Competitors gain valuable experience and training in written and oral appellate advocacy. Furthermore, the experience competitors gain is not limited to appellate practice. The legal research, analysis, writing and oral advocacy skills competitors polish during the competition are valuable in a wide range of practice areas and make competitors more marketable to legal employers.
External Competitions
Competitors in the UCI Law Moot Court Competition are eligible to apply to represent UC Irvine at national and international moot court competitions. Participants in these competitions get the opportunity to travel to competitions across the United States, further polish their research and advocacy skills, and network with professionals from diverse practice areas.
Networking
In addition to the networking opportunities afforded to competitors in external moot court competitions, participants in the UCI Law Moot Court Competition will be able to meet the distinguished members of the bench and bar who judge the oral arguments.
Writing Sample
The process of carefully researching, writing and refining briefs for competition can provide competitors with excellent writing samples for prospective employers.