Legal skills competitions are an important method of developing and practicing a wide variety of legal skills, including negotiation, trial advocacy, and appellate advocacy.
The College of Law has specific bylaws (PDF) governing student participation in these competitions.
A variety of legal skills competitions exist, and the college, through its Legal Skills Competition Board, encourages interested and eligible students to participate in local, regional and national competitions.
College of Law Established Legal Skills Competition Teams
Each year, the College of Law authorizes student teams to participate in the following competitions:
- ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition
- Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
- National Trial Competition
- Native American Law Student Association Moot Court Competition
- Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
- Giles S. Rich IP Moot Court Competition
- Jenckes Closing Arguments Competition
Intramural Legal Skills Competitions
- Richard Grand Legal Writing Competition
- Richard Grand Closing Argument Competition
- Fegtly Moot Court Competition
Other Legal Skills Competition Opportunities
From year to year, the College of Law also authorizes teams of students on a one-time basis to participate in other legal skills competitions. In recent years, teams have participated in the Transactional LawMeet, the National Animal Law Competitions, and Tulane University Law School’s Mardi Gras Sports Law Invitational Competition.
Application to Participate in Other Legal Skills Competitions
Please see the relevant section of the College of Law bylaws (PDF) for more detail.
Students interested in participating in a competition other than one of the “established” competitions must first submit an application for approval from the Legal Skills Competition Board. The burden is on the applicant to establish that the competition meets all requirements set forth in the links below. If the board approves participation, the applicants and coach must apply to the dean for funding or for approval of any fundraising efforts.
Submit applications to board chair Joy Herr-Cardillo, associate clinical professor of law at jherrcar@email.arizona.edu.
Students interested in participating in a competition other than one of the “established” competitions must first seek approval from the Legal Skills Competition Board by submitting an application to the board no later than 60 days before the first competition deadline.
- Name of student(s);
- Class year;
- Confirmation that student is in good academic standing;
- Identification of the competition host;
- Information about the structure and history of the competition, including details about competition dates and deadlines;
- Information about how team members will be identified and selected;
- Description of how participation in the competition would benefit the students and the College of Law;
- Identification of qualified individuals to advise and coach the team;
- Information about how a coach will be selected;
- Cost of preparation and attendance;
- Academic credit sought, if any.
- Past participation and success in the competition by College of Law teams;
- Quality of the host and organization of the competition;
- Cost of preparation and attendance;
- Availability of faculty and attorney advisors in the area of law that is the subject of the competition;
- Educational opportunities and benefits for students, including any potential overlap with established competition teams;
- Relationship of competition subject matter to College of Law goals and priorities; and
- Potential pool of interested and qualified students.
Key Contact
Joy Herr-Cardillo
Associate Clinical Professor of Law
520-626-1312
jherrcar@email.arizona.edu