Advocacy Programs

The School of Law enjoys a national reputation for its advocacy programs:  the Moot Court Board, the Trial Advocacy Board and the Negotiation Team.  These entities are co-curricular, student-run organizations that field teams for intercollegiate competitions in, respectively, appellate advocacy, mock trial and negotiation.  The members of these groups are chosen through internal competitions beginning in the student’s first year.

Moot Court Board

Our Moot Court Board has earned a top-30 national ranking every year since 2009 and is currently ranked sixteenth in the country.  Spearheading this success is the Board’s National Environmental Law Moot Court Team that won back-to-back national championships in 2014, 2015, and 2016.  Further, at the American Bar Association Convention in 2011, the Board’s legal ethics team received the Scribes award for the best brief in the nation.

The Board hones the oral and written advocacy skills of its members and sends teams to appellate advocacy competitions against other law schools all over the country.  In addition to the National Moot Court Competition and the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition, the Board also sends teams to compete in moot courts focused on criminal procedure, free speech, family law, bankruptcy, ethics, entertainment, civil rights and other topics.

Learn more about Moot Court.

Trial Advocacy Board

Our Trial Advocacy Board not only competes in mock trial competitions around the nation, but also provides trial litigation instruction and competition opportunities for all students at the School of Law.  The Trial Advocacy Board fields teams in the National Trial Competition, the American Association for Justice Trial Competition and the ABA Labor and Employment Law Trial Competition.

Negotiation Team

The Negotiation Board focuses on one of the most fundamental of all lawyering skills—advocacy. The Board provides students with competitive experiences in transactional, business, and negotiation-based law. The Board works in conjunction with the Business Law Institute and the Business Law Network to provide students with a broad base of opportunities to build their talents as future transactional attorneys. The Negotiation Board hosts an annual in-house negotiation competition in the fall for 2L and 3L students, and in the spring for 1L students. The Board also participates in various regional and national external negotiation competitions. Additionally, the Negotiation Board hosts its own transactional law competition, The Magnolia Cup. This competition involves Law Schools from across the nation and allows competitors to show off their negotiation and transactional law capabilities.

More Information

The School of Law promotes interscholastic competitions by allowing all student groups to seek funding for advocacy efforts.  For example, these funds have allowed our Health Law Association students to compete in the National Health Law Transactional Competition.  For more information, contact our director of advocacy programs, Matthew Hall.

World and National Championships

2017

2017 National Champion at the Invitation-Only Transactional Law Competition: The Closer, Alexia Boggs (3L); Coach: Mercer Bullard

2017 National Champions at the National Law and Religion Moot Court Competition, Team: James Blake Kelly (2L) and Josh Rhodes (2L); Coach: Professor Lisa Shaw Roy)

2017 National Runner-Up at the National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competition, Team: Alison Guider (2L), Rod Hickman (3L), Zachary Roberson (2L); Coach: Professor Scott DeLeve.

2017 North American Champions at the International Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition, Team: Kent Aldenderfer (2L), Alexia Boggs (3L), Kyle Hansen (2L), Coaches: Professor Andrea Harrington and Marshall McKellar (3L)

2017 Champions at the Inaugural Southeastern Regional Tax Challenge, Team: Kyle Carpenter (2L), Patrick Huston (2L), Devin Mills (2L); Coach: Professor Karen Green)

2016

2016 National Champions at the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (Team: John Juricich (3L) and Mary Margaret Roark (3L); Coaches: Professor David Case and Professor Stephanie Showalter-Otts)

2016 National Champions at the Tulane Professional Football Negotiation Competition (Team: Clayton Adams (3L) and Alexia Boggs (2L);  Coach: Mercer Bullard)

2016 National Champions at the St. John’s Arbitration National Competition (Team: Matthew Orr (3L), Jessica Rice (3L) and Rachel Smith (3L); Coach: Mercer Bullard)

2015

2015 North American and World Champions and at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition in Jerusalem  (Team: CJ Robison (3L), Ian Perry (JD 13), LL.M. expected 2015), and Olivia Hoff (3L); Coaches: Michael Dodge)

2015 National Champions in Securities Dispute Resolution at the 2015 Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon  (Team: Ricky Clifton, Whitney Griffin and Dillon King; Faculty coach: Mercer Bullard; Student coach: Chelsea Buckholtz)

2015 National Champions at the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (Team:John Juricich (2L) and Mary Margaret Roark (2L); Coaches: Professor David Case and Professor Stephanie Showalter-Otts)

2014

2013

2012

2012 National Champions at the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (Team: Dreda Culpepper (3L), Kimberly Thompson (2L), and Brian Whitman (2L); Coaches: Professor David Case and Professor Stephanie Showalter-Otts)

2011

2011 National Champions at the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (Team: Christina Ashoo (3L), Dreda Culpepper (2L), and Neal Wise (3L); Coaches: Professor David Case and Professor Stephanie Showalter-Otts)