Studying to be a lawyer is far more than lectures and book-based learning. One of the critical skills that law students need to develop is the ability to present a clear, persuasive, and compelling argument in court, whether a trial or appellate court. And nothing is better for refining those skills than mock trials and moot court.

Mock trials allow students to experience the entire trial process, from preparing the case to presenting in the courtroom, calling and cross-examining witnesses, and interacting with the judge and jury. Similarly, moot court competitions offer an opportunity for students to prepare a simulated appeal, including reviewing documents and records from a trial, preparing written arguments in briefs, and presenting oral arguments in front of a judge or panel of judges.

Every year, law students from across the nation compete against each other in moot court competitions. These competitions evaluate the participants in various categories, such as best brief, excellence in appellate advocacy, and best oral argument. Not only does this highlight the skills of the best and brightest students in the country, typically from some of the largest institutions, but it also reflects the quality of the instruction process at the law school they attend.

Moot Court Is Ideal for Honing Skills

Participating in moot court is particularly effective for honing critical skills. Jeramy Templin, a third-year law student in the University of West Los Angeles (UWLA) class of 2023, is a staunch moot court advocate and a top-performing UWLA moot court team member this year.

“Going beyond reading cases and then applying them to hypothetical situations, moot court gives law students a chance to feel like they’re practicing law,” stated Templin. “We’re given an issue, and we have to start from essentially nothing and dive into that issue. We have to learn the law, study relevant cases and statutes, and then structure a brief and make sure everything is compliant with the rules of the court. After that, we present the argument. This hands-on experience feels more practical and gives me the confidence to enter the legal field once I graduate and pass the bar.”

According to UWLA moot court coach and law school professor David Glassman, there is no better way to demonstrate courtroom skills than these real-world competitions. Professor Glassman should know well, having argued hundreds of cases in both state and federal courts and argued and won a case in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“In moot court, participants have the opportunity to compare their skills head-to-head with high-performing students from many institutions,” explained Professor Glassman. “It’s a perfect proof point of non-biased third-party evaluators telling students how they stack up. Jeramy Templin is a good example. He was recently awarded an Individual Merit Award for Oral Argument at this year’s prestigious Roger J. Traynor California Appellate Advocacy Moot Court Competition. This was his second year participating, and he truly distinguished himself and represented UWLA quite impressively.”

Competing on an Elite Stage

UWLA has actively participated in national and statewide moot court competitions for three decades. Last fall, UWLA students competed in the University of San Diego National Criminal Procedure Tournament, which typically includes teams from Baylor, South Dakota, Kansas University, Boston College, University of Houston, and many more top law schools. And this spring, UWLA competed again in the Roger Traynor Moot Court Competition against many top California law schools, including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Hastings, Loyola, UCLA McGeorge, Pepperdine, and more.

UWLA School of Law students Dalia Maayah and Patricia Snyder won the 2021 Traynor Moot Court Competition in the oral argument category. Ms. Snyder received the highest individual scores of any participant and was awarded the Geoffrey Wright Award for Individual Achievement in Oral Advocacy. The Traynor competition is a nationally recognized appellate moot court competition that has existed for more than 50 years.

UWLA also received a second-place award in the "Excellence in Appellate Advocacy" category for outstanding overall performance and finished third in the written brief competition. This is the second time in four years that a UWLA moot court team has won the Traynor. In 2020, the team won the Best Respondent's Brief award. In 2017, UWLA students Knarik Boyadzhyan and Stephanie Trice won the oral argument competition at the Traynor Moot Court.

UWLA Hosted the 2023 Traynor Moot Court Event at its new Woodland Hills
Campus this Spring. Video highlights can be seen at this link.

A Challenge In Which UWLA Is Winning

Professor Glassman quickly points out that these moot court competitions feature prominent, well-funded, and highly-successful schools that typically do well because they have top-tier students and teams with excellent academic credentials.

“For our UWLA law students, this is a true David versus Goliath situation,” stated Professor Glassman. “Students at UWLA are typically a bit older and often work full- or part-time while pursuing their degrees. Our students are facing 22-year-old full-time law students at pedigreed schools. But I’m proud to say we regularly perform well at these events and have excelled in both statewide and national competitions, which says a lot about the quality and commitment of our students. Having our top performer this year, Jeramy Templin, who is a part-time paralegal, be amongst the top 10 is quite an achievement. Significantly, folks like our previous winner, Patricia Snyder JD ‘21, regularly go on to become effective and successful lawyers.”

A Tradition of Excellence