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Back in November, we reported that two teams of Minnesota Law students performed extraordinarily well in the regional competition of the National Moot Court Competition held in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Both teams advanced to the semifinal rounds and the team representing Petitioner/Respondent advanced to the national rounds of the competition, which was held in New York City in January 2024. The team that advanced to New York had an outstanding showing, reaching the quarterfinals of the national round.

In an exciting first, Minnesota Law’s Environmental Moot Court Competition Team won the Jeffrey Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace Law School. The winning team includes Maria Pfister ’24, Poojan Thakrar ’24, and Hanna Weil ’24. All have backgrounds in pursuing environmental law expertise.

Carter Allen ’24 and Jack Tate ’24, along with the team of Spencer Rojas ’24 and Ryan Clemmons ’25, made up the Law School’s first-ever sports law moot court competition team. The two teams competed at Tulane University’s Mardi Gras Moot Court Invitational in early February. Both teams advanced to the quarterfinals, and the Tate/Allen team won the national championship.

Two teams of Law School students performed extraordinarily well in the regional competition of the National Moot Court Competition, held in Cleveland, Ohio on November 10 and 11, 2023.

Both teams advanced to the semifinal rounds and the team representing Petitioner/Respondent advanced to the national rounds of the competition, which will be held in New York City in February, 2024.

On the national moot court stage, Minnesota Law teams have demonstrated that they are no one-act show.      

Two Minnesota Law teams advanced to the final round in two different competitions­— Gender & Sexuality and F.B.A. Thurgood Marshall —and five teams won best brief awards at five competitions (ABA, I.P., Gender & Sexuality, William McGee Civil Rights, and F.B.A. Thurgood Marshall). In addition, another student competitor was named a top ten oralist at the ABA competition.

Simon Earle, 2L, and Dominik Ruch, 2L, argued before Justice G. Barry Anderson '79, Justice Natalie Hudson '82, and Justice Gordon Moore of the Minnesota Supreme Court, in the final round of the Maynard Pirsig Moot Court Honors Tournament. Simon Earle, won a closely contested argument, with both students receiving tremendous praise for their skills. Earle called the tournament “an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Ruch had a similar reaction, calling it “[the] coolest thing I could have imagined for my time in law school.”

Minnesota Law's Law in Practice Program, which provides 1Ls with the opportunity to develop real-world practice skills, was recently recognized by Bloomberg Law as a national leader in innovation in the field of experiential education.
2L Jack Tate, who is now an LiP student instructor, says participating in the program during his first year of law school was a huge confidence boost.

The exceptional performance of multiple Minnesota Law moot court competition teams led to an unprecedented year at the University of Minnesota Law School.

“The Law School’s strategic investment in moot courts, combined with the hard work and dedication of students and their coaches, paid off in so many ways,” says Randall Ryder '09, assistant professor of appellate advocacy and director of Law in Practice. “Our moot court students develop advanced advocacy skills that allow them to excel as new lawyers and throughout their legal careers.”

Two teams of Minnesota Law students performed exceptionally well at the 2021-22 Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition. Both teams advanced to the quarterfinal rounds and one team won the national competition for the first time in University of Minnesota Law School history (view the video of the final round).