Moritz offers several opportunities for students to learn essential lawyering skills outside of the traditional moot court competitions.
Students interested in alternative dispute resolution can participate in Moritz’s Representation in Mediation competition. The winners of that competition will represent Moritz at the American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution Representation in Mediation Competition, which is held in February and March each year. The ABA competition consists of 10 regional rounds and a national championship round. The championship round is held in conjunction with the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference, which is often held in a warm locale. Throughout the competition, students negotiate over an issue, often a contract, and are judged by practicing attorneys.
Students interested in negotiations can participate in Moritz’s Moritz’s largest internal competition, the James K.L. Lawrence Negotiations Competition. The winners of that competition will move on to represent Moritz at the ABA Regional Negotiations Competition held in major cities across the Midwest. The ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition provides a means for law students to practice and improve their negotiating skills. The competition simulates legal negotiations in which law students, acting as lawyers, negotiate a series of legal problems. The simulations consist of a common set of facts known by all participants and confidential information known only to the participants representing a particular side. All of the simulations deal with the same general topic, but the negotiation situation varies with each round and level of the competition. Regional champions will advance to the National Finals, held in February in Chicago.
Students interested in trial law can try out to compete in the Ohio Attorney General’s Public Service Mock Trial Competition. The competition is open to second-and third-year law students from Ohio law schools. It is held over two days at the Franklin County Courthouse in Columbus, OH. Attorneys from the Ohio AG’s office serve as coaches and the students are judged by practicing judges or distinguished practitioners. Each team is guaranteed to participate in at least two trials.
Trial Practice students are eligible to represent Moritz at the Texas Young Lawyer’s National Trial Competition. The competition was started in 1975 to encourage and strengthen students’ advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar. The program is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. The competition is held in Austin in the spring. Before heading to Austin, students must first win one of the 14 regional competitions.
LLM students at Moritz are eligible to compete in the International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition, hosted by the Center on International Commercial Arbitration in Washington D.C. This event, specifically created for LLM students, seeks to foster the study of international arbitration for the resolution of international business disputes and investment disputes.