Competitions
Hamline's Competitions program prepares students for team competitions with other law schools locally, nationally and internationally. Each competition is designed to simulate a stage of the legal process encountered by a practicing attorney, such as client interviewing, research and strategizing, mediation of a client's dispute, negotiation of a settlement, arbitration argument, presentation of a jury trial, or appellate brief writing and oral argument.
Students who participate in competitions refine writing and speaking skills while earning academic credit. Their teachers - faculty, attorneys, and judges - assist and support the students’ efforts. Teams are selected through auditions.
Hamline’s moot court teams have achieved an international reputation for excellence. Their numerous awards reflect the quality of our students and our program. Teams have won more than thirty Best Brief awards and Best Oralist awards, including awards for Best Brief in the Nation in the National Moot Court Competition, Best Memorial Brief in the World Regional Competition in the Jessup International Law Competition, Best Oralist in the World in the Space Law Competition, and three Best Briefs in the Nation in the National Tax Competition. In the past few years, Hamline has actively competed in the following competitions, listed alphabetically:
ABA Client Counseling Competition
This competition provides experience in interviewing a prospective client and providing feed back for that client at the initial interview. Student teams participate in a series of rounds with an unfamiliar "client", then self-analyze their performance. No brief is required. This competition is open to first year as well as upper-class students; team selection is held in he early Fall, followed by the regional competition in late February. One "pass" credit is awarded for the Fall intra-school competition, plus one for team members competing in the Spring. Professor Joseph Daly is the faculty adviser for this team.
ABA Negotiation Competition
This competition provides training in the lawyering skill of negotiating interest-based agreement. Student teams participate in a series of rounds in which team members attempt to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of a hypothetical dispute, then self-analyze their performance. No brief is required. The subject matter of the dispute will vary from year to year, e.g., international business contracts, carbon credit trading contracts, sports entertainment salaries, treatment of special education students. This problem is distributed in early October, followed by retional competition in early November. Two "pass" credits are awarded for Fall semester. Professors Ken Fox and Marilynne Roberts are the faculty advisers for this team.
Admiralty Competition
This appellate-type competition focuses on issues arising under international maritime law, such as choice-of-law determination in resolving breach of good faith, insurance coverage issues, and definitional questions such as the meaning of the term “vessel”. Admiralty Law or other international law coursework may be a prerequisite for this team. The problem is distributed in the Fall; briefs are due in mid-January. The national meet is held in early April. Two "pass" credits are awarded for the Spring semester. Professors Allen Blair and Steve Swanson are the faculty advisers for the team.
Frederick Douglass Black Law Students Association Competition
This appellate-type competition involves issues concerning civil rights, such as the constitutional validity of college admissions criteria, statutory compliance of a race-conscious housing project, environment racism, reparations, and disparate impact of juvenile sentencing guidelines. The problem is distributed in late September. The brief is due in early December, and the regional competition is held in mid-January. Once "pass" credit is awarded for Fall semester, plus one for Spring semester. Professor Jill Barclift is the contact person for this event.
Giles S. Rich Intellectual Property Law CompetitionThis appellate-type competition explores issues of copyright, trademark, and/or patent law substance and procedures. Each team's members write an appellate brief for the appellant plus an appellate brief for respondent. The problem is available in late October; one brief is due before school break, and the other is due in January. HUSL teams compete in the MIPLA Cup event for Minnesota law schools in the Twin Cities in early March: One HUSL team then advances to the Rich regional-level event in mid-March. technical engineering or patent background is not necessarily required for this event. Team members will meet 1-2 times per week from mid-October to mid-March. Professor Cathryn Deal is the contact person for this event.
Health Law Competition
This appellate-type competition focuses on legal issues such as Medicaid assistance for home health care, treatment faculty options for pregnant drug-addicted convicts, and prescription drug regulation. A background in health care may be helpful but is not required. Students selected for the team begin research in early August; the brief is due at the end of September. The national competition is held in early November. Two "pass" credits are awarded for Fall semester. Professors Barbara Colombo and Katrina Pagonis are the contacts for this event.
Hispanic Bar Association Competition
This appellate-type competition focuses on issues of importance to the Hispanic community. Post competition problems have raised issues involving business as well as constitutional matters such as internet file sharing or school admissions criteria matters. The brief is due in mid-February; the national competition rounds are held in early March. Two "pass" credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professor Cathryn Deal is the faculty advisor for this team.
InterAmerican Human Rights Competition
This appellate-type competition involves law students from the Americas at an international meet in Washington, DC. It concerns issues of violation of human rights and international law such as amnesty requirements, women’s rights, protection during armed conflict, and freedom of political speech. The competition problem is situated in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Students may argue in either English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The problem is distributed in December or January; the brief is due in early April. The international competition is held in mid-May. Two credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professor Cathryn Deal is the contact person for this event.
International Commercial Mediation Competition
This event is hosted by the Amicable Dispute Resolution Service (ADR) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which gathers teams from 40 law schools and over 85 mediation experts from around the world. The Competition consists of two parts: written and oral advocacy. Combining competition, sharing of best practices, learning and networking, this one-of-a-kind event gives participants a unique opportunity to explore cultural differences in international commercial mediation and to enjoy numerous social activities. Tryouts are held in the early Fall and the competition in February. Two "pass" credits available. Students may choose how to allocate their credits between the Fall and Spring semesters. Professor James Coben is the faculty advisor for the team. Adjunct Professor Jessica Kuchta-Miller serves as a coach.
Jessup International Law Competition
This appellate-type competition explores issues arising before the International Court of Justice. Past competitions have involved questions of territorial borders, jurisdiction over refugees, damages owed for property during civil uprisings, validity of economic sanctions, and restoration of historic artifacts. International Law coursework may be a prerequisite or co-requisite for this team. The problem is distributed in September. The brief is due in early January. The regional competition is held in mid-February. Two "pass" credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professors Allen Blair and Steve Swanson are the faculty advisers to the team.
McGee National Civil Rights Competition
This appellate-type competition utilizes an actual case currently before the United States Supreme Court. Topics have included issues of the impact of race on jury selection, age discrimination, desecration of burial grounds, physicial-assisted suicide, and violence against women. The problem is distributed during November; briefs are due in february, and the national meet is held in early March at the University of Minnesota. Two credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professor Cathryn Deal is the contact person for this event.
Mediation Competition (American Bar Association)This competition provides advanced training in the lawyering skill of mediation. Student teams participate in a series of rounds in which team members model preparation for and representation of a client in a mediation, then self-analyze their performance. No brief is required. The subject matter of the dispute will vary from year to year. Some students may be assigned to participate in the International Chamber of Commerce Mediation event; other students will be assigned to participate in the A.B.A. National Mediation Competition. The problem is typically distributed in January, followed by regional competition in February. One "pass" credit is awarded for Spring semester, plus one added credit if the team advances to the finals. DRI Project Administrator Jessica Kuchta-Miller is the adviser for this team.
Mock Trial CompetitionThis trial competition provides experience in developing and implementing trial strategy and skills. Student teams alternately represent the plaintiff nd defendant in rounds in which they present opening and closing statements as well as direct and cross-examination of lay and expert witnesses portrayed by other team members. The problem is distributed in late December; the regional competition is held in early March. Team participation is limited to students who have passed the Evidence course before Spring semester. Litigation coursework or undergraduate mock trial work is preferred. Two credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professor Morgan Holcomb is the contact person for this event.
National Moot Court Competition This appellate-type competition focuses on legal issues covering a wide range of current topics; problems in past years have included Miranda warnings, disability law interpretation, sex offender registration rules, racketeering statutes, environmental remediation responsibilities, protected speech rights, and federal preemption questions. Students selected for the team begin research in early September; the brief is due in mid-October and the Midwest regional competition meet is held in mid-November. Two "pass" credits are awarded for Fall semester. Professor Cathryn Deal is the contact person for this event.
Native American Law Students Association Competition This appellate-type competition sponsored by the Native American Law Student Association explores issues concerning constitutional and treaty rights of tribal members, including water rights, land ownership, tribal enrollment restriction, and criminal jurisdiction. The problem is distributed in November, the brief is due in mid-January, and the national competition is held in February. Two "pass" credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professor Cathryn Deal is the contact person for this event.
Online International Dispute Resolution Competition
This competition provides advanced training through interscholastic, international competition in the emerging lawyering skill of problem solving online. A typical issue is a dispute over warranty coverage for delivery of defective goods using international conventions on sale of goods as the controlling legal precedent. The competition is typically held during a week at the end of February. One credit is awarded for Spring semester. Professor David Larson is the faculty adviser for the team.
Space Law Competition (may alternate years with the Admiralty Competition)
This appellate-type competition focuses on emerging issues involving commercial uses of space and the impact of international law on resolution of those issues. The problem is distributed in early October. The brief is due in March. The team orally argues the case at the national meet in early April; the winning team represents the USA at international finals the following Fall. Two credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professors Steve Swanson and Allen Blair are the faculty advisers for this team.
Tax Challenge Competition
In this transactional practice event, a team of two students will write 1) a memoramdum to a senior partner proposing and evaluating tax-advantaged structuring of a client's goals and 2) write a letter to the client describing the client's choices. Teams whose written work is selected will advance to the ABA national meeting to orally present their proposals to a senior partner and a client, role-played by attorneys. Past problem's involved client proposals to revitalize businesses and schools in New Orleans, LA. The problem is distributed in mid_Fall; written work is due in December followed by oral presentations in mid-January. Significant teamwork is required over the holiday vacation, so J-term students are not eligible for this event. Professor Morgan Holcomb is the contact person for this event.
Tax Moot Court Competition This appellate-type competition focuses on issues involving substantive and procedural tax rules. Topics may involve family partnership distributions, like-kind exchanges, charitable deductions, commercial debt discharge, joint ventures with medical nonprofits, and statute of limitation questions for example. Team participation is limited to students who have passed Tax I: Taxation of Individuals before Spring semester. The problem is distributed in late September; the brief is due in early January, requiring intensive on-site work during the semester break in January; J-term students are not eligible. The team orally argues the case at the national meet in early February. Two "pass" credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professor Cathryn Deal is the faculty adviser for this event.
Thomas Tang Asian Law Student Association Competition
This appellate-type competition focuses on legal issues related to civil rights, such as English-only laws, reparations measures, jury selection discrimination, and statutory bars to minority access to rights of other U.S. citizens. The problem is distributed in late Spring; or in the Summer; the brief is due in early September and the comptition regional meet is typically held at the end of September. Two credits are awarded for Fall semester. Professor David Larson is the contact person for this event.
Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Competition
This competition is based upon an international commercial arbitration hypothetical and involves teams from around the world. Team mambers must draft a brief for the claimant plus a brief for the respondent, followed by oral argument of the case against teams from other law schools. The hypothetical is distributed in late October; the claimant's memorial is due in mid-December and the respondent's memorial is due in mid-February. Oral arguments are held for one week in March; one team competes in Vienna, Austria, and the other team competes in Hong Kong, China; HUSL participation is sponsored financially by the Robins Kaplan Law Firm. Two credits are awarded for Spring semester. Professor Joseph Daly is the faculty adviser for this team.