External Competitions

There are still opportunities to compete on a moot court team in 2023-2024

Students interested in the following events (links below) should contact Professor McFadden immediately: the National Appellate Advocacy Competition, the Chicago Bar Association Competition, and the Giles Invitational Antitrust Moot Court Competition. Students interested in any other competition must apply before September 1, 2023.

The application process is described here.

Table of contents

National and regional law school competitions—involving appellate, trial, dispute resolution, transactional, negotiation, or drafting problems—provide a great opportunity to hone professional skills and to network with other students, practitioners, and judges from around the country. 

Indiana Law has a long history of success in external competitions. Our school enthusiastically encourages students to participate, and we will support our teams with coaching, logistics, and, within the limits of our budget, funding for registration and travel.

Participating on an external competition team also requires a high level of commitment from students, because

  • We want to ensure that both our individual students and the Law School as an institution are well represented;
  • Participants are eligible for academic credit, with instructor approval (see below);
  • Fielding a team is expensive and often involves funds both from the Law School and student fundraising. A typical budget for a two- or three-person team, including entry fees and travel, is $2,000 to $4,000, depending on location.

The policies described below apply to all external competition teams that intend to compete using the Indiana University Maurer School of Law name, regardless of whether any funding is sought from or provided by the Law School, and regardless of whether participation is for academic credit.

Types of events

The application process differs for the three principal types of events in which the Law School competes:

  1. Course-related and affiliated external teams;
  2. Appellate moot court competitions; and
  3. Student-initiated teams, whether or not the Law School has participated in the past.

Each year, Indiana Law sends students to a variety of competitive moot court competitions on teams associated with certain courses or clinics offered by the Law School. More information about each of these is available from the sponsoring faculty. Teams for these competitions typically require course enrollment or other prerequisites. These competitions include:

  • American Association for Justice Trial Competition
  • ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law Student Trial Advocacy Competition
  • Competitions sponsored by the Elmore Entrepreneurship Clinic
    • Transactional/Startup Law Meets
    • Venture Capital Investment Competition
  • Competitions in intellectual property law or related areas (administered by the Center for Intellectual Property Research), including
    • AIPLA Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition
    • INTA Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition
    • Oxford University International IP Law Moot
    • International Patent Drafting Competition
  • Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court

In addition to fielding the course-related moot court teams listed above, the Law School sends students to several prestigious and competitive national tournaments. Applications for these teams are due in the spring of the preceding year. These teams are supervised and coached by Prof. Lane McFadden alongside faculty advisors who are experts in the subject-matter of the tournament. These competitions include the:

  • Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace University
  • ABA Young Lawyers' Division National Appellate Advocacy Moot Court Competition
  • Anderson Center Seventh Circuit Judicial Ethics Moot Court Competition
  • Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
  • Global Antitrust Institute Invitational

Application materials for participation on any of these seven teams are due to Professor McFadden by email (lanemcfa@iu.edu) no later than April 14, 2023. Late applications will be accepted only in extraordinary circumstances Please submit the following:

  • A cover letter describing:
    • Your interest in any specific competition, including any relevant courses or work experience
    • Your past moot court or oral advocacy experience (including activities like debate or public speaking); and
    • Your interest in moot court more generally.
  • A current résumé
  • A writing sample. The ideal writing sample is in the form of a litigation pleading, e.g., a motion or part of a brief. Please submit work product (which has been cleared by your employer), if you have it. Otherwise, you can submit an LRW assignment or writing for another Law School class that demonstrates your advocacy skills and your ability to assess a complicated legal problem.

Certain moot court teams may require an interview or short audition.

Students with an interest in a particular competition not listed above may also propose and organize an external team. The Law School must review and approve these proposals in advance before students may enroll in the competition. The Law School has limited funding to support moot court teams and will prioritize allocating resources to permit as many students as possible to participate in quality competitions.

The best way to ensure the Law School’s support for your proposal is to submit a complete application (as described below) as early as possible. Applications for any competition held in the 2023-2024 school year must be submitted to Prof. McFadden (lanemcfa@iu.edu) no later than September 1, 2023. First check the registration deadline for your specific competition (usually on the competition’s website), as earlier approval may be necessary.

 Your proposal must first be approved by a Law School faculty member (full-time or adjunct) who is willing to serve as team advisor. You must then notify Prof. McFadden of your intended proposal at least 30 days before the registration deadline, or by September 1, 2023, whichever comes first. All proposals will be considered in conjunction with the faculty advisor, the Business Office, and the Office of Student Affairs.

Each year, students propose a team for competition at one of the many moot court competitions around the country. The Law School supports and encourages participation in moot court competitions, but has limited funding to support student-initiated teams. The Law School has a unified application process and an early fall deadline for all proposals to ensure that resources are allocated in a way that permits as many students as possible to participate in quality competitions.

The best way to ensure the Law School’s support for your proposal is to submit a complete application (as described below) as early as possible. You should first check the registration deadline for your specific competition (usually on the competition’s website), as that date will determine all your internal deadlines for seeking Law School approval.

See a current list of nationwide appellate moot court competitions, sorted by general subject matter.