Moot Court First Year Program

The Spring Moot Court Program at USF is one of the only student-run oral advocacy programs in the country. 

All first year students at USF participate in the Moot Court Program during the spring semester of their Legal Research, Writing and Analysis (LRWA) course. The spring Moot Court Program at USF is a student-assisted oral advocacy program. A group of dedicated second and third year students play a critical role in assisting the LRWA professors to develop oral argument topics and to instruct the Moot Court participants through their first oral advocacy exercise.

In addition to receiving their LRWA professor’s supervision, first year students are coached and mentored throughout the spring Moot Court Program by "Case Counsel" — second and third year students who excelled in Moot Court and are experienced in oral advocacy techniques. Moot Court participants are assigned to a topic (a topic likely covering a traditional first year subject area such as contracts, criminal law, or torts). Next, participants are required to prepare briefs on their topic. The Moot Court Program then culminates in a weekend of oral arguments, where each first year student delivers an oral argument for one side of their respective topic. The USF Moot Court Board, comprised of five third year students, is responsible for overseeing the administration of the student aspect of the Moot Court program. 

Spring 2012 Moot Court Dates