Members of the Appellate Division compete each year in over twenty competitions throughout the country. These competitions give students the opportunity to hone both their research and writing skills. Students work hard to research and produce written briefs on issues involving the subject area of law in which they will compete. They spend a number of weeks drafting their briefs, then engage in weeks of “practice rounds,” aided by their coaches and members of the Society, to perfect their oral argument skills. By the time the competition takes place, they have perfected their arguments on both sides of the issue.
Appellate competitions address a wide spectrum of subjects, ranging from family law to criminal procedure to constitutional law to international law. Our Appellate Division competitors have won competitions every year and often advance beyond preliminary rounds to the quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds of competition.
Selection for Membership in the Appellate Advocacy Division
Members of the Moot Court Honor Society’s Appellate Division are selected primarily through a two-round intramural competition held in the spring of their first year of law school. Participation in the first round of the intramural competition is required as part of the first-year legal writing course. Students who are not invited to join the Society during their first year may apply for membership after completing a course in Appellate Advocacy.