DESCRIPTION:
Moot Court is a student-run team at Berkeley Law focusing on appellate and international law competitions. Participants work in small teams to research, write, and oral argue appellate cases. Our work builds on the skill students will learn in their required Written and Oral Advocacy (WOA) course –– students on the moot court team should expect to research case law and write a brief based on a record, and will then do an oral argument. The work is difficult but a lot of fun, and allows students who are interested in litigation to flex their skills and do appellate work.
SKILL BUILDING:
Moot Court will help you develop the skills necessary to become an effective advocate. Participants will hone their research, writing, and oral advocacy skills, and will get important experience doing legal work as a team. Students participate in a 1-unit course associated with the Moot Court team to help develop students’ writing and prepare them for competition. We provide trainings and individualized feedback so that team members develop the skills to become the most effective advocates possible.
COMPETITIONS:
Jessup International Moot Court Competition
Traynor California Law Moot Court Competition
National Moot Court Competition
National Appellate Advocacy Competition
National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
STUDENT TESTIMONIAL:
Anonymous (Class of 2021) – National Moot Court Competition (NMCC) 2019
Competing on the appellate team was a fun, challenging, and enriching experience. As a member of the NMCC team, I really enjoyed getting to explore an appellate brief without any assistance or instruction, and it was liberating to attack the problem in a way that made sense to me. I enjoyed the collaborative nature of the competition and getting to know my teammates through the writing and oral advocacy process, and forged great friendships as a result of the time spent together refining the brief and practicing for the competition. The competition itself was exhilarating, and it was great to be able to compete against local law schools and be judged by local practitioners. Overall, NMCC helped me realize that I want to pursue a career in appellate advocacy, gave me the confidence to participate in the McBaine competition as a 2L, and encouraged me to refine my skills in Appellate Advocacy as a 3L.
HEAD COACH:
Ted W. Pelletier has handled civil appeals and motion work in California for over 25 years, since graduating from Hastings College of the Law in 1994. He has handled many dozens of cases in California’s appellate courts, including several groundbreaking decisions in the California Supreme Court. He is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and is admitted to practice in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a multi-year member of Super Lawyers, and in 2021 was chosen by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the top 25 Product Liability attorneys in California. He has taught and coached advocacy to Berkeley Law competition students since 2018. He runs the Law Office of Ted W. Pelletier (www.