External Moot Court Competitions

At Saint Louis University School of Law, we provide our students with on-going opportunities to hone the skills necessary for success beyond the classroom. For this reason, activities like competitions are essential in preparing students for experiences they're likely to find in a real-world setting.

Appellate Advocacy Moot Court Competition

The Appellate Advocacy program seeks to sharpen a student's skills in research, analysis, writing and oral argument. Appellate Advocacy is divided into Appellate Advocacy I, Appellate Advocacy II and Upper Division Moot Court Competitions.

In Appellate Advocacy I, students are assigned a team and, with the assistance of Moot Court student judges, must research and prepare an appellate brief as well as present oral arguments. The student judges, a group of third-year students who previously participated in the program, work in tandem with the assistant dean of students to review the student teams as they engage in competition.

The top 20 students from Appellate Advocacy I are invited to participate in Appellate Advocacy II. Participants in Appellate Advocacy II engage in quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds of arguments. The final arguments are held before a large audience at the School of Law and are judged by visiting justices and judges from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Missouri Supreme Court, the Missouri Court of Appeals and other federal and state courts. Finalists in Appellate Advocacy II are eligible to compete in the National Moot Court competition.

Jessup Moot Court Competition

Students in this competition get to brief and argue a hypothetical case on timely issues of international law before a faux International Court of Justice. At the 2008-09 Super Regional Competition, the team advanced to the quarter finals, their written memorial received third place, and one team member, Osita Onyia, received the fifth place oralist award from a field of 92 oralists. The team is coached by Beth Anderson Jennings, Assistant Director of the Center for International and Comparative Law and alumnus Patrick Foppe.

Students try out for the following year’s team each spring. This team then represents the School of Law at the Southwest Super Regional in Houston, Texas the following spring. The top two teams from that competition proceed to the international competition in Washington, D.C. The international competition consists of winning teams from 12 U.S. super regional competitions and national competitions in 50 foreign countries.

Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition

Law students participate in two intellectual property moot court competitions: The Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the Brand Names Education Foundation. In both competitions, students are required to write a brief and argue a hypothetical case pertaining to patent or trademark law, as if they were arguing in front of a federal appeallate court. the School's teams consist of second and third year students who are selected, through an internal competition, to represent the School of Law at the regional level of each competition. The winning teams from those competitions may then proceed to a national competition.

National Health Law Moot Court Competiton

The competition allows students to write an appellate brief on a developing area of health law and policy, then argue both sides of the appeal before faculty and law trained administrators, distinguished alumni and, eventually, at the national competition.  In 2006, one of the two SLU teams won the national competition.  In addition, the two SLU teams won first and second place in the best brief category.  The health law moot court team is coached by Amy Sanders, JD, Assistant Director of the Center for Health Law Studies.

Client Counseling Competition

This ABA-sponsored competition provides students with an opportunity to interview and counsel clients. All students are eligible to compete. Students compete in teams of two and conduct simulated client interviews. A panel of two lawyers and one non-legal counselor handle all the judging and choose two teams as winners of the competition. The winning teams are invited to go on to the regional competition, which is also sponsored by the ABA.

Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition

Sponsored by the National Black Law Student’s Association, the 35 year old competition provides students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds with an opportunity to hone their legal writing and advocacy skills. Competitors interact with and learn from legal professionals throughout the Midwestern region. Thereafter, the top three teams in the Midwest will move on to the National Competition.