I founded the Moot Court team at the University of Connecticut in 2013 and served as the coach for their first two years. In their second year competing, two students from the UConn Team made it to the National Tournament — and went undefeated on the first day of argument.
I have also developed courses designed to teach the basics of legal argument, case analysis, and public speaking to help students prepare for moot court competitions. I have offered these as full credit, graded courses as well as pass/fail independent studies.
Moot Court allows students to practice their legal analysis, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. It is an important and growing active learning opportunity for students from all fields of study. My research exploring student motivations for participation in Moot Court has been published in PS: Political Science & Politics. In November 2018, my second piece on Moot Court, looking at faculty approaches to teaching and coaching, was published online in the Journal of Political Science Education. I also published a third article, with advice for faculty considering starting a competitive moot court team. I’m always happy to discuss moot court, including its strengths and challenges, with anyone thinking about forming a team.
More information about intercollegiate moot court is available through the American Moot Court Association’s website.
I worked with students to start a Moot Court team at Occidental College. This team was created in 2017 and the students competed in the invitational tournament at CSU Long Beach in April 2017 and 2018. Two teams won awards in the 2017 competition, and all the teams did well in the 2018 tournament.
Oxy Moot Court also competed in the Western Regional tournament at CSU Fresno in November 2017. At the regional tournament, one student earned a Top Orator award (given to the 10 highest scoring individuals), and 2 teams made it to the quarter-final rounds. For my work with Moot Court and other student advising, I received the 2018 Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award from the Occidental College Division of Student Affairs.
