51 law students from across the U.S. are taking part in the 32nd annual William E. McGee Civil Rights Moot Court Competition on Friday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 18, at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
20 teams from 14 law schools, including Mitchell Hamline, will participate in several rounds of oral arguments during the two-day contest.
The competition is named for the late William McGee, a University of Minnesota Law School alum, the first African-American to be appointed chief public defender in Minnesota, and a strong advocate for human rights. He died in 2000 at the age of 47.
This year’s problem is based on the real case of Lee v. Tam, a trademark case currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dozens of alumni are among the attorneys who’ve volunteered to assist with the competition. 40 contest judges read briefs sent in by the teams in January, and more than 120 attorneys who are experts in constitutional and intellectual property law are acting as volunteer judges. 30 Mitchell Hamline staff and students are 
volunteering as well.
The final round of oral arguments on Saturday will include former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Esther Tomljanovich ’55 (SPCL) and current Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Peter Reyes ’97 (WMCL).
The list of law schools participating:
- Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
- Chicago-Kent College of Law
- DePaul University College of Law
- Howard University School of Law
- Mitchell Hamline School of Law
- South Texas College of Law
- University of Baltimore School of Law
- University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
- University of Minnesota Law School
- University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Law
- University of South Dakota School of Law
- University of St. Thomas Law School
- University of Wisconsin Law School
- Valparaiso University Law School