National Moot Court Competition

The program was formatted as a mock appeal, in order to develop the skills of appellate advocacy among law students.

[3] The cases argued traditionally focus on a timely issue arising under the United States Constitution, in keeping with the competition's original theme of appellate advocacy.

The final national competition continues to be held in New York, and the final argument between the top two teams is judged by a seven-person mock court, including prominent jurists, the president of the New York City Bar Association and the president of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Each fall, the New York City Bar Association invites all ABA-accredited law schools to field moot court teams of two to three students to participate in regional competitions.

Every participating team is required to submit a brief in advance of the regional and (if they qualify to attend) national competitions.

United States Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall, Potter Stewart, Byron White, William Rehnquist, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Anthony Kennedy have all judged past final rounds.

Dane Shikman and Kyle Singhal (center) of the George Washington University Law School won the 2015 National Moot Court Competition, defeating Georgetown University before a seven-justice bench.
Judges of the 2008 competition during final arguments, from left to right: Mikel L. Stout; The Honorable Richard Andrias; The Honorable Julio M. Fuentes; Honorable Deanell Reece Tacha; The Honorable Theodore T. Jones, Jr.; The Honorable Roslynn Mauskopf; Barry M. Kamins