Litigation

Perfect the methods necessary to successfully represent clients

For students who wish to head to the courtroom after graduation, Moritz provides ample chances to polish their litigation skills.

During the first semester of their second year, all students participate in the Moot Court Program by taking Appellate Advocacy I. In Appellate Advocacy I, students write an appellate brief on a case under the supervision of Professor Mary Beth Beazley and practicing attorneys. Students then argue their case before panels of judges, which may include faculty members, practicing attorneys, and third-year students.

Second- and third-year students also have an opportunity to gain experience in a variety of lawyering skills by competing in the various intramural and interscholastic lawyering skills competitions administered by Director of the Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Program Anne M. Doyle, who is assisted by the student-managed Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Governing Board.

Following completion of the mandatory Appellate Advocacy I Course, further participation in lawyering skills offerings is voluntary. Appellate Advocacy II in the second semester of second year consists of an intramural moot court competition (also known as the Herman Competition), in which students write appellate briefs and face off against opposing counsel (fellow Herman competitors) in lively oral arguments before judicial panels.

Those who distinguish themselves in the Herman Competition go on to compete during their third year in national moot court, or "traveling" teams. The Moritz College of Law currently fields teams in about 20 different competitions, including prestigious events in general appellate advocacy, criminal procedure, evidence, labor and employment, civil rights, international law, representation in mediation, and many others.

Because Moritz is committed to helping students gain hands-on experience, the number and variety of moot court opportunities is greater than those at many other schools.

In addition to practice in appellate advocacy (briefs and oral arguments), the Moritz Moot Court program also oversees intramural and interscholastic events for second and third-year students in legal negotiation, representation in mediation, and in trial advocacy. The intramural trial competition, known as the Colley Competition, offers a chance to represent a side in a full mock trial, conducted before a judge at a nearby courthouse. An additional opportunity exists to serve on the National Trial Team, which each year travels to a different law school to compete.

A useful complement to moot court experience is the Civil Law Practicum. The practicum is a clinic course in which law students represent clients in pending civil cases, learning how to competently and professionally represent clients in civil matters through both live-client representation and extensive simulations. In addition to class meetings, students prepare each case, present it in court, or work to obtain a satisfactory out-of-court resolution. In recent years, students in these clinics have represented clients in both federal and state cases.

Two of the cases in the Civil Law Practicum have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court, and clinic students have been crucial in preparing briefs and arguments; another case included a five-day jury trial in federal court that was tried almost entirely by Moritz students under the supervision of licensed law faculty.

The Civil Law Practicum also recently joined the Ohio Attorney General's Office to assist in filing and prosecuting a credit card company and marketers for using deceptive practices on OSU's campus. Students were assigned to the case and, with the oversight of two Moritz professors, have followed it through civil court.