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Family Law Team: (l to r) Lindsay Ashwal, Coach; Valentina Shaknes; Alicia Brooks; Sabrina Thanse
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 ompeting in moot court competitions provides law students with an excellent opportunity to strengthen their oral advocacy and written skills, which are essential to the practice of law. Brooklyn Law School’s moot court program is among the nation’s best in fulfilling this goal. Each year BLS enters approximately 30 teams in national competitions. These competitions span all areas of the law, from family law to criminal procedure, from white-collar crime to international law. This past year BLS took home top honors in several competitions.
Selection Process
The Moot Court Honor Society is composed of two distinct components: the Appellate Division and the Trial Advocacy Division. Each student is required to write a brief and to participate in an oral argument as part of the first-year Legal Writing course.
Based on composite scores from the brief and oral argument, outstanding students are then invited to participate in a second and more demanding round of arguments, from which a group of students are chosen for the Appellate Division.
Students may also choose to compete for membership to the Trial Advocacy Division. The Trial Advocacy competition involves crafting and performing an opening statement and conducting a cross-examination. Following two rounds of competition, exceptional students are then extended invitations to join the Trial Advocacy Division.
Some extraordinary students may be selected for both the Appellate Advocacy and the Trial Advocacy Divisions, at which time the students will be given the option to compete in both, or to select a preference.
Moot Court at Work
The appellate moot court teams work hard to produce extensive 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” to perfect their oral argument skills. The trial advocacy teams also engage in extensive "practice trials," preparing and perfecting an entire trial, including opening statements, direct and cross examinations, and closings. During this period the teams are aided by faculty and student coaches. BLS’s outstanding record of success in competitions is attributed in part to the strong involvement of faculty and alumni. These individuals critique the students’ arguments and assist them in developing the issues. Once the students have honed their skills they are ready to compete in various moot court competitions held throughout the country. The teams generally compete first in qualifying rounds, and as they are successful they advance to quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds. Students earn academic credit for their participation in moot court competitions.
Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition
Each year Brooklyn Law School hosts the Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition, a national moot court competition. Named in honor of the late BLS Dean and renowned evidence scholar, the competition draws over 30 law school teams from across the country. Many of the students from the Moot Court Honor Society are involved in the coordination of the Prince Competition, and a few students have an opportunity to work with faculty members to research and write the problem – an issue at the forefront of evidentiary law – that is used in the Competition. Read more about the 2007 Prince Competition.
Contact the Moot Court Honor Society
For more information about the moot court program or the Brooklyn Law School Moot Court Honor Society, contact Caren Wean, President at (718) 780-7970 or by email at caren.wean@brooklaw.edu.
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