Competition: Virtual format
Mitchell Hamline School of Law will host the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition.
We are committed to providing an outstanding experience for our student competitors. Student competitors and volunteer judges will meet in a Zoom courtroom for the arguments. A volunteer “bailiff” will be in the Zoom room ready to help with any tech-related questions. Each student team will participate in two preliminary rounds of oral argument. In each round, students will argue for approximately an hour, and will then be invited to break-out rooms while judges deliberate. Following the deliberations, judges will offer constructive feedback on the students’ performance. The top four teams will advance to the semifinal rounds on Saturday, and the winning teams from the semifinal rounds will compete in the championship round Saturday afternoon.
Mitchell Hamline is excited to field a team(s) at the 40th Annual William McGee Moot Court Competition, organized by Mitchell Hamline School of Law. The competition will be virtual from March 5-8, 2025. Students who are chosen to participate receive 2 credits. Students will need to log 90 total hours in brief research and writing, oral argument practice, and the competition to earn two credits.
2024-2025 MHSL McGee Teams
- Sewa Gunn/2L Blended
- Sophie Hill/3L BAM
- McKayla Murphy/3L BAM
- David Myers/3L Blended
The first task for the students chosen for the Mitchell Hamline McGee team(s) will be to write an appellate brief. The brief must be written by the student members of the team(s) without assistance from faculty or others. The moot court problem is scheduled to be released in late October 2024. The due date for filing and serving the brief in January 2025.
Once the brief is filed and served, students will then develop oral arguments with the assistance of faculty coaching ahead of the preliminary oral arguments in March 2025. Team members should plan to invest a significant amount of time each week working on the brief and preparing for oral arguments. Students must have completed their first year to be considered. Blended students are encouraged to participate.
Professor Vonda Brown will coach the MHSL McGee Team(s). Please submit the following application materials to her at vonda.brown@mitchellhamline.edu by Friday, October 4, 2024, at 5 p.m.
- Submit a brief letter of interest (100-250 words)
- In the letter, identify any prior moot court, debate or law competitions experience (no previous experience is required; this info is for planning purposes)
- Submit a short legal writing sample no more than 7 pages in length (e.g., argument section of a brief or motion memorandum)
- A two to three-minute video of the student’s oral argument based on one or more of the issues in the writing sample submitted. A video recorded on your phone is acceptable.