The National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition is an annual inter-law school appellate moot court competition sponsored by Pace University School of Law. The number of teams typically ranges from 65 to 75 teams. The purpose of the competition is to develop expertise in environmental law appellate advocacy. The annual problem typically involves three parties: industry, government and an environmental protection group, and includes a variety of environmental law statutory issues, administrative law issues and common law claims.
Web Site
http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=23579
Advisor
Professor Eileen Gauna (`85)
Students who are eligible
2L and 3L students only
Dates and timeline overview
Each team will write a brief for one of the respective party’s legal argument. The problem typically arrives at the end of September and the brief is due around the first part of December. Each team will participate in oral argument (as one of three adverse parties). The competition takes place around the third week of February at Pace Law School in White Plains, NY.
Registration is limited to one team per school, two or three students on the team.
Try out details
If there are more than three interested students, there may be an internal tryout competition that may involve writing a mini-brief on an environmental issue and an oral argument judged by local lawyers.
What to expect
The issues in this specialized area are generally technically and legally complex and involve three distinct interest groups. The time commitment is substantial. The brief, due the first part of December, cannot have any participation or input by anyone other than the team members. There will be at least 10 practice oral argument sessions, lasting about two hours each. Because attorneys volunteer for these sessions, they will often be held at night or during the weekend. In January and during the first two weeks in February, students can expect three practice sessions per week.