William & Mary Moot Court
The Moot Court Program is one of William & Mary School of Law’s best opportunities for students to develop and refine both oral advocacy and brief writing skills. Team members participate in moot court tournaments, which require each team to research and write an appellate brief, then defend it before a panel of judges in an oral argument. Membership on Moot Court is an honor, and tryouts for the team are competitive.
Each year William & Mary’s Moot Court Team sends its members to approximately twenty inter-collegiate moot court tournaments around the nation. William & Mary’s teams have always enjoyed resounding success, with the 2010-2011 school year being the team’s most successful single year in its history. The team has enjoyed six first place overall tournament wins and has advanced to the octofinal, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds in several others. Additionally, the Team’s competitors are well-known as talented oral advocates and they have shown their writing skills by winning multiple “Best Brief” awards in recent years. The Team attributes its successes to the dedication of its members, as well as the support of the entire William & Mary community, both within and outside the Law School.
In addition to competing, the William & Mary Moot Court Team annually hosts the William B. Spong, Jr. Invitational Moot Court Tournament. Now in its fortieth year, the Spong Tournament focuses on current issues in constitutional law. Rounds are judged completely by panels of federal and state court judges. The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association is the tournament’s co-sponsor, and its representatives also serve as judges for the tournament. Competitors at the Spong Tournament represent schools from across the United States.
(William and Mary Moot Court members in front of the John Marshall statue at the United States Supreme Court. 18 members of the team attended oral arguments and met with Justice Scalia on March 21, 2011, along with our current advisor, Ben Hatch, and our former advisor, Judge Doug Miller.)