The C. Edwin Moore Moot Court Competition is a voluntary competition offered to first-year students in the fall semester. This oral advocacy intra-school competition challenges first-year students’ organization and presentation skills.

Competition Overview

This competition is aimed at challenging the students' organization and presentation skills in oral advocacy. Further, it provides an opportunity for students to gauge their interest in oral advocacy and is an excellent source of information for the Moot Court Board and those involved in the selection process for the skills teams at Drake Law School.

Unlike First-Year Oral Arguments and the Supreme Court Day Competition, the C. Edwin Moore Moot Court Competition does not include a written component. The problem is selected by the Moot Court Board and the students are provided all of the materials for the problem, including a synopsis of the problem, an outline of the argument for the appellant, and an outline of the argument for the appellee.

As the competition focuses on oral advocacy skills, students are instructed to make arguments within the information provided and avoid any outside research.

In addition to the honor and experience of making oral arguments to the experienced panels, cash prizes are awarded to the winner of the argument.

Competition Process

Students are advised of an informational meeting about the competition within the first few weeks of their first semester. This informational meeting covers the competition process and timeline, as well as the proper format for an appellate argument. One of the senior members of a moot court team also performs a mock argument.

For students who choose to participate, the two preliminary rounds are held over the course of two weeks and challenge the students to argue both for the appellant and the appellee. These rounds are argued before local attorneys, the majority of which have experience in appellate advocacy.

The semi-final round places the top ranking students in randomly assigned arguments against one another. The semi-final round is held before a panel, including Professor Laurie Doré and local attorneys who are hand-selected for their history with appellate advocacy.

The final round features the top four students, who argue in front of a panel of local judges—often a panel of the Iowa Court of Appeals in the courtroom at the Iowa Judicial Building.

The First-Year Oral Argument Competition is a mandatory competition for first-year law students held in the spring semester.

The competition combines the students’ research, writing, and oral advocacy skills and is a great way for the students to receive feedback on all aspects of the appellate process.

Competition Overview

The First Year Oral Argument Competition (FYOA) is a mandatory competition for all first-year law students. It is held during the spring semester in conjunction with the Legal Research and Appellate Advocacy courses.

This competition—along with the C. Edwin Moore Moot Court Competition—is also reviewed during the application and selection process for the skills teams at Drake Law School.

Competition Process

The students receive a problem from their legal research and writing professors. Each professor uses a different problem, usually exploring an unsettled area of law. This provides the students with an opportunity to research an area of law and prepare a brief on the issue presented.

The students are graded on the substance of their arguments and the technical requirements of drafting a brief. In some years, the students are paired for purposes of the brief and argument, giving the students a unique opportunity to collaborate in the process. These briefs are submitted and graded for purposes of the second-semester legal writing course.

The oral advocacy competition is based on the same subject matter as the briefs written by the students. While the brief score is not calculated into the competition score, the research and time dedicated to the brief are reflected in the students’ arguments.

The students are judged by practicing attorneys, many having appellate advocacy experience. The preliminary rounds last two weeks and challenge the students by requiring them to argue both sides of the issue.

The top students from the preliminary rounds are selected to argue in a final round, judged by Professor Laurie Doré, alumni of Drake's appellate advocacy teams, and the Moot Court Board. The top 10 students are recognized for their success.

Appellate Advocacy Course Overview

Appellate advocacy is taught by two instructors with deep levels of experience in appellate advocacy. The Honorable Mark Bennett brings a wealth of experience from his 24 years on the federal bench, including work on appellate panels by designation. Louis Sloven is an Assistant Attorney General in the state of Iowa who works on criminal appeals and regularly argues before the Iowa Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

The course is presented with a new problem each year, based on current issues before the Iowa Court of Appeals. The students first create a written appellate brief. After the briefing stage is complete, each student has a chance to practice oral advocacy before the official competition begins, in order to hone their arguments and style. Students then engage in the elimination rounds to select the final four students who can present their oral arguments to the Iowa Supreme Court on Supreme Court Day.  

Students who take the course should expect to learn how to write a persuasive appellate brief, how to deliver a persuasive oral argument, and practice both for the Supreme Court Day Competition.

Supreme Court Day Competition

All students in Appellate Advocacy have the chance to compete for the final four spots as finalists for the Supreme Court Day Competition. Once the elimination round panel judges choose the final four students, those students have a final round of arguments before the Iowa Supreme Court. The Court will convene afterward to select the winner of the competition, who will be presented with their award at the Drake Law School Annual Supreme Court Day Celebration Banquet. The Justices also honor the student with the best brief. 

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• TYLA National Mock Trial Team

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• ABA NAAC Moot Court Team
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• Intellectual Property Moot Court Team

Learn more about Drake Law's moot court teams.

• Arbitration Team
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