William & Mary Law's Competition Teams
by Annabel Steele '25
We’re over a month into the new semester, and everyone’s really getting into the swing of things. For some of us, the start of the spring semester meant adjusting to a new schedule, becoming more comfortable with new classes and trying to find a good sleep routine. (I’m still working on that last one!) But for a group of 1Ls (and a few 2Ls too), the start of the new semester added another responsibility: trying out for Moot Court.
Moot Court is one of those classic law school activities that you hear about all the time. Participants work on appellate briefs and then defend their stance in oral arguments. Moot Court is a really excellent way to hone a lot of skills that will serve you well throughout your entire legal career — after all, you get plenty of experience with research, writing and oral presentations before people assessing the strength of your argument and delivery.
At William & Mary Law, the Moot Court tryout process began at the start of the semester. My friends who tried out had to read a thick stack of cases, write a memo and develop persuasive oral arguments on top of their regular class readings. After that, they had a practice round of oral arguments and got feedback from Moot Court members. Then the real tryout rounds began in earnest.
If you’re interested in competition teams but Moot Court doesn’t sound like your thing, don’t worry! William & Mary Law has multiple competition teams, so there are a lot of opportunities to make a team and practice important legal skills. If you’re more interested in negotiation and client counseling, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Team is right up your alley. If you’re considering a career in corporate law, you can gain important experience on the Transactional Team. The National Trial Team offers an invaluable opportunity to develop trial advocacy skills. And the International Competition Team allows students to jump into important international law issues.
All of the competition teams participate in tournaments across the country (and, in the case of the International Competition Team, across the world!). Moot Court even hosts a competition here at William & Mary. So if you’re interested in pushing yourself, trying something new and competing against other law schools, a competition team might be just the thing for you.