Moot Court

The Cleveland-Marshall Moot Court program is an organization designed to provide students the opportunity to develop, refine, and showcase brief-writing and appellate advocacy skills. All students are eligible to compete for a position on the team at the end of their first year by submitting their final Legal Writing course paper. Submissions are reviewed anonymously by the Moot Court Board of Governors, and selected students then participate in an intramural competition. Second year students also have an opportunity to compete in an intramural competition to join the team after completion of the Advanced Brief Writing course. Once a member of the team, students compete in interscholastic competitions against other teams from across the nation. The award-winning Cleveland-Marshall Moot Court team provides students the unique opportunity to obtain and develop real-world advocacy skills, both written and oral, while still in law school. Team members benefit from the advice and guidance of experienced alumni, faculty, and practitioners.

2017 MOOT COURT TEAM COMPETITION SCHEDULE

American Bar Association, National Appellate Advocacy Competition - Regional Competition TBD, National Finals will be held in Chicago April 6-8, 2017. Representing Cleveland-Marshall College of Law are two teams: Team One consists of Robert Barbato and John Reulbach, both third- year students. Team Two is comprised of Rachel Kalayjian, Amanda Orr, all 2nd year students, and Barbara Martincic, a 3LE student. The ABA Law Student Division National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) emphasizes the development of oral advocacy skills through a realistic appellate advocacy experience. Competitors participate in a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The competition involves writing a brief as either respondent or petitioner and then arguing the case in front of the mock court.

National Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare & Adoption Law, sponsored by Capital University law School, the competition held in Columbus, Ohio, March 10-11, 2017 (March 10 at the Ohio Statehouse, March 11 at the Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial Center. Patrick Hennish, Lauren Holler, and Nicole Vincent will be competing on behalf of Cleveland-Marshall. The competition attracts teams from law schools across the country and engages numerous attorneys, judges, and magistrates to serve as volunteer judges for briefs and oral arguments. Law students experience a one-of–a kind opportunity to develop and refine their advocacy skills through briefing and presenting oral arguments related to arguing case scenarios involving timely, complex, and challenging issues in family law. Legal professionals gain an opportunity to provide mentorship and encouragement to the students, while also furthering their own substantive knowledge of the legal issues involved in the case. 

The 29th Annual Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition, Thursday, March 2 – Saturday, March 4, 2017 to be held at the Albany Law School in Albany, N.Y. Melissa Bilancini, Benjamin Fuchs, and Alanna Guy will be representing Cleveland-Marshall. The Gabrielli Competition gives second-year students the opportunity to practice written and oral advocacy skills in an intramural competition. The subject matter for the competition encompasses a broad range of current issues of social and legal importance.

The 30th Annual August A. Rendigs, Jr. National Moot Court Competition, Thursday, March 23 through March 26, 2017 in Cincinnati. Competing for Cleveland-Marshall will be Rachel Byrnes, Madelyn Grant, and Aaron Host. The competition is the only national competition devoted to products liability law. The competition honors Mr. August A. Rendigs, Jr. (1895-1988), one of Cincinnati’s most respected trial lawyers.

2017 Wechsler National Criminal Law Moot Court Competition, hosted by the University at Buffalo School of Law, Saturday, April 1, 2017. Cleveland-Marshall law students, Brittany Mallow and Andrew Schriver will compete. Named after the drafter of the Model Penal Code, the annual Wechsler Competition is the only national moot court competition in the United States to focus on topics in substantive criminal law. Problems address the constitutionality and interpretation of federal and state criminal statutes as well as general issues in the doctrine of federal and state criminal law.