banner image
blurred banner image

Competition Teams and Advocacy

Board of Advocates

The Board of Advocates (BOA) is a student organization that promotes oral and written advocacy through on-campus and off-campus competitions. The board is made up entirely of second- and third-year law students who have excelled in moot court, mock trial, client counseling, mediation, and/or arbitration.

Annual Competitions

BOA organizes and facilitates two annual intra-school moot court competitions. In the fall, it hosts the Daugherty Moot Court Competition for all second and third year students, as well as the Whitten Burrage Negotiations Competition, which is open to all students. In the spring, it hosts a separate 1L competition for all of the first year law students. In addition to these annual competitions, BOA also facilitates the regional and national inter-school competitions hosted by OU College of Law.

Membership

All students are eligible to join the board. In the fall, first-year students are eligible to compete in the Whitten Burrage Negotiation Competition, as well as serve as bailiffs in the Daugherty Competition. In the spring, all 1Ls participate in the BOA-sponsored 1L Moot Court competition.  Students are also eligible to run for BOA positions during their second and third years.

Contact

For more information, stop by the office or email BOA at ouboa@ou.edu, or you can contact the BOA faculty sponsor, Professor Taylor Freeman Peshehonoff, at tfreepesh@ou.edu.

Board of Advocates/Competitions OU College of Law 300 Timberdell Road Norman, Oklahoma 73019

Taylor Freeman Peshehonoff, Director of Competitions Email: tfreepesh@ou.edu Phone: (405) 325-4819

Traveling Team Competitions

Travel Forms and Links 

Appellate Advocacy/Moot Court

Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition, Fall
Sponsored by the Young Lawyer’s Division since 1981, this competition provides two issues on current legal topics for teams to brief.  Teams present oral arguments in Chicago in November.  This competition is open to any student in good standing.  

Energy Law Moot Court Competition, Spring
This competition is sponsored by the West Virginia College of Law.  Teams consist of two law students who write a brief on an issue relating to the field of energy, then present oral arguments at the competition in West Virginia.  Briefs are due late Frebruary.  The competition is late March or early April.  The competition is open to any law students in good standing. 

First Amendment Moot Court, Fall 
American University in Washington, D.C., sponsors this annual competition featuring a current First Amendment controversy. Two or three-member teams prepare a written brief and present oral arguments before a panel of judges with expertise in First Amendment Law. The competition is open to any 2nd or 3rd year law student in good standing. The national competition is held in October. 

Fredrick Douglass Moot Court, Spring
The Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition is sponsored by the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA). Topics generally cover nationally important procedural and substantive issues facing all citizens, many in the area of discrimination. Regional competitions are in February. The national competition will be held in March. The competition is open to any BLSA member in good standing 

Health Law Moot Court , Fall
This competition takes place at Southern Illinois University School of Law.  Topics cover current health care issues.  Two or three member teams prepare a brief and present oral argument in October.  This competition is open to any student in good standing. 

Hispanic National Bar Association Moot Court, Spring
Sponsored by the Student Division of the Hispanic National Bar Association, this competition began in 1972 to promote legal awareness and opportunities within the legal community. Students compete for brief writing and oral advocacy awards. Each team consists of two or three students and is open to all students in good standing who are members of the Hispanic National Bar Association Law Student Division. All teams participate at the national competition late March. 

Jessup International Moot Court, Spring
Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is sponsored by the International Law Students Association.  It is the world’s largest moot court competition with competitors from 95 countries.  Jessup is an advocacy competition in which oral and written pleadings are presented on timely issues of international law as if being argued before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands. Regional rounds will be held in February. The international competition will be in March or April in Washington, D.C. Completion or enrollment in International Law Foundations is required. OU Law teams travel nationwide to compete in appellate advocacy, moot court, trial teams and skills teams. A detailed list of competitions is below. 

McGee Civil Rights Moot Court Competition, Spring
This competition is sponsored by the University of Minnesota.  The competition tackles current civil rights issues.  The brief is written between semesters by a team of three law students.  The competition takes place in February in Minnesota.  The competition is open to any law students in good standing. 

National Appellate Advocacy, Spring
This competition is sponsored by the American Bar Association Law Student Division. Teams consist of two or three law students who are members of the ABA Law Student Division. Teams brief a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court and then present oral arguments to a panel of judges. Briefs are due early January. The regional competition is in late February or Early March. Finals will be late March. 

National Moot Court, Fall
This is the oldest moot court competition in the nation. It emphasizes the development of oral advocacy skills through competition with a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Two or three member teams prepare a brief and compete in regional and national tournaments. The regional competition will be in November, and the Nationals will be in New York in January. This competition is open to any student in good standing.

NNALSA Moot Court, Spring
Sponsored by the National Native American Law Students Association, this advocacy competition is open to all students in good standing who are members of the student division. The topic focuses on a current issue in Federal Indian Law or tribal law. Each two-member team writes a brief and presents oral arguments at the competition held once a year. This year’s competition will be held in late February/Early March. 

Spong Appellate Advocacy, Spring
This competition is sponsored by William and Mary Law School. Teams consist of three law students who write a brief on an issue of constitutional law, and then present oral arguments at the competition on the William and Marry Campus. Briefs are due early January. The competition is late February or early March.

Trial Teams

AAJ Trial Competition, Spring
This annual nationwide mock trial competition is sponsored by the American Association of Justice, formerly ATLA. Each team consists of four members who prepare and litigate both sides of a civil lawsuit from opening statements through to closing arguments. Competition trials are judged by members of state and federal bar and bench. The regional competition is in February with the national competition approximately three weeks later. The competition is open to all law students in good standing who are members of AAJ’s Student Division. Completion or enrollment in Trial Techniques or Evidence preferred . 

National Trial Team Competition, Spring
This is one of the oldest student trial competitions in the nation. Each team consists of two- three members who prepare and litigate both sides of a lawsuit from opening statements through to closing arguments. The format alternates yearly between civil and criminal trials.  Competition trials are judged by members of state and federal bar and bench. The regional competition will be in February and the National competition should be in late March. Completion or enrollment in Trial Techniques or Evidence preferred. 

Thurgood Marshall Trial Team Competition, Spring
The Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition is sponsored by the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA).  Topics generally cover important procedural and substantive criminal law issues facing all citizens, many in the area of discrimination.  Regional competitions are in February.  The national competition is held in March.  The competition is open to any BLSA member in good standing.

Skills Teams

ABA Arbitration Competition, Fall
This competition is sponsored by the American Bar Association Law Student Division. Arbitration teams consist of four law students. The problems concern a contract dispute that has mandatory arbitration provisions. The teams conduct opening statements, direct and cross examination and closing arguments in front of a panel of arbitrators. This competition is open to all students in good standing who are members of the ABA Law Student Division. Completion or enrollment in Evidence preferred. The regional tournament is in November and the National finals are in January. 

ABA Client Counseling Competition, Spring
Sponsored by the ABA Law Student Division, the Client Counseling Competition places law students in the role of lawyers interviewing a new client. The two-member teams conduct an initial client interview. Judging is based on a variety of criteria including rapport with the client, ability to gather facts, the quality of the advice, exploration of non-legal options and ethics. Participants must be members of the ABA Law Student Division. The regional Competition takes place in mid-February and the National Finals are mid-March.

ABA Mediation Competition, Spring
Sponsored by the American Bar Association section of Mediation, this competition places law students in the role of attorneys and clients trying to resolve legal problems with the help of a trained mediator.  Competitors are given general fact patterns and confidential information for their side.  The regional competition takes place in late February or Early March.  The national competition takes place at the ABA ADR Spring Meeting in March.  

ABA Negotiation Competition, Fall
This competition is sponsored by the American Bar Association Law Student Division. Negotiation teams consist of two law students. Each team is given a general problem and confidential information about its client. During competition, two teams negotiate in front of a panel of judges. This competition is open to all students in good standing who are members of the ABA Law Student Division. The regional tournament is in November and National finals will be in February. 

In-School Competition

Daugherty Moot Court Competition

The Daugherty Moot Court Competition is an intra-school competition hosted during the fall semester by the OU College of Law Board of Advocates. This competition helps the students identify how the United States Constitution affects modern everyday life. Each year, the topic and issues cover a constitutional law problem that is currently being litigated in the courts. Participation in this competition is completely voluntary and open to all OU College of Law second and third year students. The participants in the Calvert Competition do not write a brief, but instead rely on the actual briefs written by the attorneys arguing the case in court. From these briefs the participants prepare and present arguments on both sides of each issue.

Click here to review the Calvert Moot Court Competition rules.

First-Year Competition 

The First-Year Competition is associated with the Spring Legal Research and Writing class. All first year students write appellate briefs and present oral arguments on a case written specifically for them.  Each team prepares oral arguments for both sides of the issues.  The oral advocacy competition consists of preliminary and elimination rounds.  The BOA administers the elimination rounds.  The rounds are judged by attorneys, judges, and faculty.

 

Awards

Competition team members are eligible for Order of Solicitors and Order of Barristers awards upon graduation.

Order of Barristers

The Order of Barristers is an honorary society dedicated to recognition of outstanding performance in advocacy by law students across the nation.  Third year students can make application for this honor during the Spring semester.  Eligibility for the Order of Barristers requires that a student distinguish himself or herself in advocacy competitions.

Order of Solicitors

The Order of Solicitor awards were established to recognize extraordinary performance and leadership in competitions, primarily trial and skills competitions.  Third year students can make application for a Solicitor award during the Spring semester.  Students are selected who have provided a superb service to the College of Law by participating in competitions around the country.

Judging Opportunities

OU Law welcomes volunteers to assist with the judging at OU-sponsored competitions. A counselor judge is someone with education, training or work experience in a field that involves counseling. School counselors, clergy, chaplains, therapists, psychologists, drug and alcohol counselors and mediators are all encouraged to participate. 

Please contact Director of Competitions Taylor Freeman Peshehonoff at tfreepesh@ou.edu for upcoming event dates and details.

Thank you for your interest in applying to OU Law

Please select your program of interest to learn more about the application process.

J.D. ProgramM.L.S. ProgramLL.M. ProgramLegal Assistant Education Not sure? Learn more about admissions at OU Law