Moot Court

Spring semester, first-year students take the Moot Court class and learn complex legal research, persuasive legal writing, and effective oral argument.

Moot Court Classes
Moot Court Board
Moot Court Competition Team
The Hastings Appellate Project (HAP)

Make a Gift to the Moot Court Program

Moot Court Classes

Moot Court topics are chosen from real cases pending before an appellate court or a supreme court. The students work with an actual record, research the law, and write an appellate brief on behalf of one of the parties. The experience culminates in a formal oral argument before a three-judge panel. Students list preferences for their Moot Court topic at the conclusion of the first semester, choosing among at least a dozen options, and the Moot Court Department assigns topics that correspond to student choices.

Moot Court Board

Successful completion of the Appellate Advocacy class entitles second- and third-year students to join the Moot Court Board. Moot Court Board members:

• Act as teaching assistants in both the first-year Moot Court classes and the Appellate Advocacy classes
• Attend organizational and informational meetings
• Hold office hours and provide personal assistance to students enrolled in Moot Court and Appellate Advocacy
• Serve as coaches for oral arguments

Moot Court Competition Team

Hastings participates in numerous intercollegiate Moot Court competitions covering a wide range of current legal issues. This year, Hastings' overall rating for competition teams was fifth in the country according to the national Moot Court competition website LawSchoolAdvocacy.com.  From 2008 to 2009 Hastings was ranked second in the country.

Achievements of the 2009-10 Hastings Moot Court Competition Team included:

• Winning the National Championship at the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
• Winning the Regional Championship at the National Moot Court Competition
• Third Place in the World at the Stetson International Environmental Competition
• National Semifinalists, Asylum and Gender Refugee Law Competition
• National Semifinalists, Cardozo Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition
• National Semifinalists, Pace National Environmental Law Competition
• National Semifinalists, Tulane Mardi Gras Competition
• National Semifinalists, Whittier National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition (2 teams)
• National Semifinalists, Evan A. Evans Constitutional Law Competition
• Nine Oral Advocate Awards
• Thirteen Brief Awards

Competition team members are selected from open tryouts held in the spring. The student team members are selected on the basis of resume, writing sample, a 5 minute oral argument, and a short interview. Hastings Moot Court competition team members receive two units for their participation. Hastings pays all travel costs, including airfare, food and hotel, for competitions held outside of the Bay Area.

More than 200 students try out for Intercollegiate Competition teams each year. Moot Court competitions are a popular practical training experience in the Hastings curriculum because they provide excellent experience in legal research, analysis, writing, and oral advocacy, good contacts in the legal community, resume value, and a great sense of accomplishment, teamwork, and school spirit.

Hastings has one of the most successful and most well-respected Moot Court programs in the United States. The success of the Moot Court competition teams continues to add to the tradition of excellence that is synonymous with Hastings.

During 2009-2010, Hastings is competing in 19 Moot Court competitions, both regional and national, throughout the United States. We are enjoying another year of remarkable success thanks to our hardworking and extremely talented students, adjunct faculty, coaches and judges, who are active participants in training and supporting our student competitors at every level.

Hastings has established itself as a Moot Court competition winner and we will continue to build on its reputation as a powerhouse in Moot Court and a prominent training ground for future litigators! 

The Hastings Appellate Project (HAP)

Third year students with advanced appellate advocacy and litigation skills may participate in the Hastings Appellate Project, which offers real-life litigation experience through the Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Program.  Under the supervision of Gary Watt, appellate specialist and HAP Director, the students assume responsibility for all aspects of appellate litigation, including briefing, document filing, calendaring, client correspondence, and oral argument.  In 2009-2010, Joseph Khoshlesan, Jessica Luke, and Bert Nguyen represented a young man seeking reversal of a summary judgment on his § 1983 claims against the City of Oakland for unlawful arrest and detention.

Additionally, Kate Mahoney and David Prager, also third years, represented a woman in her appeal from an adverse decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals.  In a published opinion by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, the Ninth Circuit granted the client's petition for review and remanded her case to the agency.  The decision enforces important legal protections for people in immigration proceedings, and was HAP's first victory at the court.  For more information, please see the opinion.

Students enrolled in HAP may receive three units of academic credit (two in the fall, one in the spring) or special recognition at graduation for pro bono service.  To apply for HAP in the 2010-2011 school year, please follow the instructions on the application below and submit the application in early May 2011.  Please contact Gary Watt, gwatt@archermorris.com, or Stephen Tollafield, tollafie@uchastings.edu, with any questions or for more information.

2010-2011 HAP Application