Moot Court

Mercer has built a legacy of excelling in Moot Court competitions throughout the nation. Every fall, Mercer Advocacy Council holds try-outs for second-year law students who wish to be on the Moot Court Board. Once selected for Moot Court, students work rigorously with faculty to hone their oral and written advocacy skills prior to their individual competitions. More than a quarter of the faculty coach moot court teams, and over a third of the faculty contribute to the moot court selection process. Considerable resources, in both money and time, are devoted to student participation in the moot court program.

Moot court is an integral part of the law school culture. Every student is required to write at least two persuasive briefs, and give two rounds of oral arguments in the legal writing classes. Additionally, the school hosts the Lawson Moot Court competition, an intra-school competition for first-year students, that is judged, in part, by practicing lawyers and judges from the community. This competition allows students to participate in oral advocacy prior to the selection process for the Moot Court Board.

The result of student dedication and an emphasis on in the Mercer legal writing curriculum is an outstanding record of competition success.