Students who participate in Mitchell Hamline’s moot courts and competitions find additional opportunities to practice the skills they’ve learned and gain an understanding of how attorneys function within a particular area of law. Mitchell Hamline participates in various competitions, each featuring a distinct skill important to practicing lawyers. Each competition has its own focus, format, and eligibility standards.
We anticipate the 2020–21 Competitions and Moot Courts season to be impacted by COVID-19. Many competitions have announced they will be held virtually, usually over Zoom or a similar platform. Some competitions have announced a hybrid virtual/in-person format. Finally, several competitions have decisions pending. Please check each competition’s website for the most up-to-date information. Please note that the law school will not sponsor student travel in the Fall semester. The school has not yet determined whether the school will sponsor student travel in the Spring semester. As soon as that decision is made, we will update this site.
For more information, contact Competitions Coordinator, Debbie Nelson at debra.nelson@mitchellhamline.edu or Competitions Director, Morgan Holcomb at morgan.holcomb@mitchellhamline.edu.
Competitions and moot courts planned for 2020–21
- ABA Law Student Tax Challenge
- ABA Negotiation Competition
- Bryant National Health Law Transactional Moot Court Competition
- Giles Sutherland Rich Intellectual Property Moot Court
- Health Law Regulatory and Compliance
- NNALSA Moot Court
- Pace Environmental Moot Court
- Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court
- Rosalie E. Wahl Moot Court
- Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court
- SIU National Health Law Moot Court
- Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition
- TYLA/ACTL Mock Trial Competition
- Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court
- William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court
Competitions and moot court courts previously offered
- American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy Competition
- ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition
- International Patent Drafting Competition
- National Transactional LawMeet
- New York City Bar’s Annual National Moot Court
- Vis International Commercial Arbitration Competition
Participants say…
“Moot court competitions give students a chance to practice the written and oral skills they are learning in their law school classes. We hear over and over how the students are thrilled to argue in front of appellate-level judges who compliment them as having ‘some of the best’ oral argument techniques they have seen.”
—Kristine Dorrain ’03, Adjunct professor, Coach of BMI and Saul Lefkowitz teams
“It was a highlight of my law school experience because I was there for a purpose which I was passionate about and deeply committed to learning about.”
–James Lund ’07, former Moot Court competitor
“With our third trip to nationals in four years, we heard people from several schools talk about how well the law school does in a number of these law school competitions.”
—Michael Gibbons ’99, Co-coach of Client Counseling Competition team
“The insights and practice we have had in speaking to clients has been valuable in developing active listening, determining relevant information, giving advice, giving the client reasonable expectations, dealing with confidentiality, explaining fees/retainer agreements, and the list goes on.”
—Michael Sheridan ’08, former 2008 National Client Counseling Competition third-place finisher