Moot Court Teams

Find information on Drake Law's National Moot Court Team, ABA NAAC Moot Court Team, Environmental Law Moot Court Team, and Intellectual Property Moot Court Team.

National Moot Court Team

Over 150 law schools compete in the National Moot Court competition, with regionals held during the fall semester and nationals in the spring.

Students prepare appellate briefs and oral arguments for competition at the regional level, and the top two schools from each region advance to the national competition in New York City. The competition gives students the opportunity to hone their appellate advocacy skills by arguing before practicing attorneys and judges. Support for the National Moot Court Team is provided in part by the Henry G. and Norma Peterson Charitable Trust.

2023-24 National Moot Court Team
Benjamin Wolf
Catherine Dukelow
Nadia Valentine
NaRayah Runyon
Ankit Pal
Kendra Betz

Coach: Louis Sloven

To learn more, contact Louis Sloven (louis.sloven@drake.edu).

Visit the National Moot Court Competition website.

ABA NAAC Moot Court Team

The ABA NAAC Moot Court Team is Drake Law School’s general-topic spring moot court competition team. The National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) is organized by the American Bar Association (ABA) and emphasizes the development of written and oral advocacy skills through a realistic advocacy experience.

Two teams of three individuals are selected each year to compete. The ABA releases a hypothetical appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and each team writes a brief and argues in the regional competition in front of a mock court. The regional competitions are held at six different locations across the nation, and the regional winners move on the finals.

2023-24 ABA NAAC Moot Court Team
Grant Gasner
Geoff Van Deusen
Brianne Miller
Madalyn Grask
Kaleigh Blinn
Kelsey Schott

Coach: Thomas Bakke

Visit the ABA NAAC Moot Court Competition Website.

Environmental Law Moot Court Team

The National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition is hosted by Pace Law School in White Plains, N.Y. Recognized as the preeminent environmental law moot in the United States, the competition tests skills in appellate brief writing and oral advocacy on issues drawn from real cases, providing experience in environmental litigation first hand.

In the competition, three adverse teams argue the issues, reflecting the fact that environmental litigation frequently involves multiple parties: the government, a public interest group, and a member of the regulated industry.

Teams write and file their briefs for their respective parties in early December and come to the Pace campus in February for the oral phase of the competition. Those with the highest combined scores for both the written brief and oral argument advance to succeeding rounds.

2023-24 Environmental Law Moot Court Team
Kendra Sparby
Ouli Sow
Danielle Neu

Coach: Tess Pocock and Sheridan DeJong

Visit the Environmental Law Moot Court Competition website.

Intellectual Property Moot Court Team

This competition introduces law students to important issues in U.S. trademark and unfair competition law. Students develop their brief writing and oral advocacy skills in a mock courtroom experience.

Students are expected to write a brief reflecting the issues in the fact pattern/problem, and then argue the case in regional and national competitions before a panel of volunteer attorneys, judges from various district and other courts, members of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and jurists from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The regional competition takes place in February. Two teams from each competition advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C. in March.

2023-24 Intellectual Property Moot Court Team
Monica Pietig
Dylan Schuchard
Erin Stender
Tristan Poirier

Coaches: Mike Gilchrist and Nick Krob

Visit the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition website.