Moot Court Overview and Requirements
Moot court competitions are an opportunity to enhance research, writing, and oral advocacy skills. Students work in teams to develop a persuasive analysis of a sophisticated legal problem and must master the contours of an entire area of law to be successful. Cases are assigned to teams to prepare a written brief and oral arguments for both sides before a mock panel. Winning teams carefully address both sides of their argument and demonstrate exceptional understanding of an area of law.
Requirements
All moot court team members should be upper-level students in good academic standing and must commit to remaining in Boston during the term(s) in which the team is preparing for the competition. Many competitions have a 3L preference, and strong academic standing and commitment are required.
Please submit your Moot Court proposal using this form after you have met and discussed the proposal with the faculty supervisor.
Academic Credit
Participants in school-sponsored competitions must devote substantial time and effort to researching, writing, and preparing for oral arguments or advocacy. In recognition of the effort required to participate in these competitions, the faculty advisors have agreed to award participants up to three (3) directed study credits for the experience, provided the entire team satisfactorily (i) completes the required written submission, (ii) participates in a number of rounds of practice argument, and (iii) attends and participates in the competition. Students must register for Moot Court credit during the semester in which they attend the competition. In addition, participation may result in a written product that can be used to fulfill the ABA upper-level writing requirement. An honorific and evaluation will be assigned for a student’s completion with the preparation and participation in Moot Court.
Application Process
Please connect with the coach working with your competition of interest, as all application processes are different. To submit your application materials, please fill out this form.
Sponsored Competitions:
The six sponsored teams are:
- Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition (APALSA)
- Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition
- Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition (BLSA)
- ABA NAAC Moot Court Competition
- Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court Competition (LALSA)
- Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Competition
Moot Court Coach
All coaches must be full time faculty members, and commit to:
Coach the team for at least six (6) hours per week during the relevant times.
- Meet with the student to create learning outcomes and goals, which will form the basis for the student’s final evaluation if the student is to receive course credit.
- Submit an evaluation for the student in a timely fashion, if the student is to receive course credit.
Current Coaches:
- Ana Rivera – Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court Competition (LALSA)
- Bruce Jacoby – Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Competition
- Carol Mallory – Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition
- Dan Danielson – Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition (BLSA)
- Dan Jackson – ABA NAAC Moot Court
- Margaret Hahn-Dupont – Thomas Tang MCC (APALSA)
Funding
Funding is extremely limited, and priority is given to sponsored teams.
As a sponsored team, you will be eligible for funding up to to $3,000. This may include, registration, travel and/or lodging for competition. Moot Court funding cannot be used to reimburse for food costs, however, you can fill out this form for GSG Travel Funding to cover those expenses.
The Office of Academic and Student Affairs can assist with booking travel and registration costs for teams.
Please submit your team budget proposal by the first day of classes, with the below information:
- Total registration costs for the competition
- Total costs for transportation (bus, train, plane, gas mileage)
- Total costs for lodging (we strongly encourage you to examine multiple lodging options as the most affordable options may not be at the location of the competition). As a reminder, total costs cannot exceed $3,000, you are strongly encouraged to review multiple options for lodging to ensure you remain within budget.
All sponsored teams must submit a projected budget for approval, as this funding is based on reasonable expenses.
Please submit your budget proposal for the team below:
It is the student’s responsibility to send any required hotel credit card authorization forms to Cyntoya Simmons (c.simmons@northeastern.edu) a week prior to attending the competition. If you do not submit the required authorization by this time, it will be student’s responsibility to fund their own stay and submit a reimbursement.
If your team is awarded the opportunity to participate in Nationals, please reach out to the ASA office with a new budget within 5 business days of invitation.