106.2 Moot Court

The Faculty of Law offers an extensive Moot Court program designed to give students experience in the preparation and presentation of cases at trial and on appeal, in the interviewing and counseling of clients and in the resolution of Aboriginal disputes. As part of the first-year Legal Writing and Research course, students are required to prepare for and argue an appellate case in the Winter Term. Evaluation is based on written advocacy (factum preparation) and oral advocacy. In upper years, of the program, students may participate in the competitive mooting program which currently consists of appellate moots, a trial moot, an Aboriginal law moot, and client counseling and labour arbitration competitions. Course credit can be earned for participation in these moots and competitions. Students may also participate (without credit) in the Negotiation Competition.

The list of competitive moots in which the Faculty participates is not fixed and can vary from year to year depending on funding, the availability of instructors/coaches, and the continuing relevance of faculty participation in particular competitions. Students are selected for competitive moots each Fall, through either the in-house Brimacombe Selection Round or through selection processes for individual moots, approved by the Vice Dean in consultation with the instructor and coordinator of mooting. Currently, the Faculty participates in eight appellate advocacy moots: the Jessup Moot (international law); the Laskin Moot (a bilingual moot in Constitutional, Administrative Law); the Gale Cup Moot (a Constitutional or Criminal Law); the Canadian Corporate Securities Moot; the Wilson Moot (human rights, equality law); the Clinton J Ford Moot (an in-house moot, open to students with a minimum of 60); the Bowman Moot (tax law); and the Alberta Court of Appeal Moot (a competition between the Universities of Alberta and Calgary, open to students with more than 32 but less than 60).

In addition, the Faculty participates in the Western Canada Trial Moot (a trial advocacy moot involving law schools in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) and potentially the Sopinka National Trial Moot Competition; the Client Counselling Competition; the National Labour Arbitration Moot and the Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot. These competitions focus on the development of advocacy skills in other than appellate settings.