February was a busy month for the upperclass students who are members of the Moot Court Board of Advocates and who are participating in national moot court competitions. The students and their faculty coaches spend a great deal of time preparing for these national competitions. The students write and submit briefs, and they spend countless hours honing their oral advocacy skills in practice rounds. Their hard work has paid off, and UDM Law is very proud of their accomplishments.

 

UDM Law had three teams of students competing in national moot court competitions on the weekend of February 16 and 17. The Asylum and Refugee National Team traveled to UC Davis School of Law in California and competed against more than 30 teams in what is growing into the most competitive immigration competition in the country. The UDM Law team won both of its oral argument rounds.

In addition to the Asylum and Refugee National Team, UDM Law had two teams of students compete in the Regional Rounds of the National Appellate Competition in Las Vegas. This is the largest appellate competition in the country, and more than 230 teams compete in six assigned Regionals in Las Vegas, St. Louis, Boston, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and New York. Each Regional round consists of between 36 and 40 teams. One of UDM Law's teams went 1-2 in the Preliminary Rounds. The scores were very close, with less than two points separating the teams. This team's brief received a high score and finished well within the top 25 percent of briefs in the competition. The second UDM Law team in the National Appellate Competition went 2-1 in the Preliminary Rounds and advanced to the Octofinal Round as the highest-ranked 2-1 team. The team won the Octofinal Round and advanced to the Quarterfinal Round, which is the highest Regional round. This team also won the 4th Best Brief Award and two of the team members won the 8th and 9th Best Advocate Awards.

UDM Law sent two teams to the McGee Civil Rights National Moot Court Competition on the weekend of February 23 and 24. The competition was held at the University of Minnesota, and a total of 36 teams participated. One of the teams finished as a Quarterfinalist and earned the 4th Place Overall Award and the 8th Place Brief Award.

There will be more Moot Court National Team news to report in the coming weeks, so please check back for updates!