Maine Law’s excellent Moot Court Program was recently ranked 34th in the nation for the 2023-2024 competition season.
The annual ranking is released by the University of Houston Law Center’s Blakely Advocacy Institute and is based on the performance of teams in national competitions.
Maine Law’s teams competed in six national competitions this year and one international competition. They advanced to the final round of the Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition at Seton Hall Law School and won Best Respondent’s Brief in the same competition; advanced to the Quarterfinal Round and won Best Brief at the Bryant-Moore Civil Rights Competition, hosted by Howard University School of Law; and advanced to the Quarterfinal Round of the McGee Civil Rights Competition, hosted online by Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
Although this didn’t factor into the rankings, a Maine Law team was the only U.S. team to compete in the Helsinki Information Law Moot Court, where they also took home Best Brief.
“This is an impressive achievement for Maine Law’s Moot Court program, especially given the relatively small size of our school. It’s one more way Maine Law and its students are having an outsized impact. It is also a reflection of all the work that’s been done to revitalize and bolster the program in the past decade,” Vice Dean and Provost Dmitry Bam said.
Professor Angie Arey plays a critical role in that success as she oversees the Moot Court program and coaches three of the teams herself. More faculty coaches, more practices, a strong legal writing foundation (especially in the first year), bringing in members of the legal community to work with teams in niche legal areas, and a focus on building skills instead of collecting accolades all helped catapult the program to new heights.
“I’m so proud of the program the faculty coaches have built and the opportunities that participating in Moot Court offers our students,” Arey said. “These successes not only indicate robust legal writing and Moot Court programs but signify the passion, drive, and commitment of our students.”
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