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Ames Moot Court Competition

May 17, 2023

The Ames Moot Court Competition is the annual upper level moot court competition at Harvard Law School. It is designed and administered by the HLS Board of Student Advisers and has been in existence since 1911,[1] when it was founded by a bequest in honour of the erstwhile dean of the School who had died the year before, James Barr Ames.[2] Cases take place in a hypothetical United States state named Ames.[3]

Format and history

As currently structured, the official competition begins in the fall (usually October or November) of students' 2L year with a round-robin qualifying round. Each team at this stage consists of four participants, who each argue twice in teams of two. The four teams with the highest scores advance to the semi-finals in the spring. Each team is then allowed to add two participants, for a total of six people per team; two members of each team present oral argument in this round, typically before a panel of one federal appellate judge, one district judge, and one state court judge. In the competition's final round, held in the fall of the 3L year, the two remaining teams argue a case before a panel that usually consists of one U.S. Supreme Court justice and two judges from the United States courts of appeal. Prizes are awarded for the best brief, best oralist, and best overall team.

The competition originally was organized around the school's now-defunct law clubs. The competition occurs primarily in students' 2L year because the faculty found that, for students who did not finish at the very top of their first year class, "it [was hard] for them to take the same interest in their work, particularly in the work within the law clubs, participation in which depends entirely upon their own volition." Thus, to encourage students to continue working hard, the Ames finalists received prizes of $200 for first place and $100 for second place. After several years of a single-elimination tournament, the format changed to a round-robin that more closely resembles the current qualifying round structure.[4]

The final round competition is one of the most popular events at the Law School each year, especially because a justice from the U.S. Supreme Court usually presides. The Ames Final Round has occasionally been televised on C-SPAN.

Many have found the Ames competition to be a demanding but rewarding experience. Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court, an Ames semi-finalist in her time at Harvard, wrote that "what was most rewarding was the opportunity to work as a team with other students. We could debate, argue, and challenge each other as we analyzed the case and prepared the briefs. The process was much more satisfying than the routine of classroom lectures and solitary examinations. The Ames competition provided a realistic view of what practicing law could be like."[5]

Winners

Previous notable winners include:[6]

References

  1. ^ "BSA Website". from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  2. ^ " ". Harvard Alumni Bulletin. Vol. 54, no. 13. Harvard Alumni Association. 1952. p. 536.
  3. ^ a b Gilmore, Grant (2015). The Ages of American Law: Second Edition. The Storrs Lectures Series. Yale University Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780300211047.
  4. ^ "A Centennial History of Harvard Law". from the original on 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  5. ^ 27 Harv. Women's L.J. 367 (2004), available here June 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ . Harvard Law School Board of Student Advisors. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-28.

External links

  • Official website

May 17, 2023
ames, moot, court, competition, annual, upper, level, moot, court, competition, harvard, school, designed, administered, board, student, advisers, been, existence, since, 1911, when, founded, bequest, honour, erstwhile, dean, school, died, year, before, james,. The Ames Moot Court Competition is the annual upper level moot court competition at Harvard Law School It is designed and administered by the HLS Board of Student Advisers and has been in existence since 1911 1 when it was founded by a bequest in honour of the erstwhile dean of the School who had died the year before James Barr Ames 2 Cases take place in a hypothetical United States state named Ames 3 Contents 1 Format and history 2 Winners 3 References 4 External linksFormat and history EditAs currently structured the official competition begins in the fall usually October or November of students 2L year with a round robin qualifying round Each team at this stage consists of four participants who each argue twice in teams of two The four teams with the highest scores advance to the semi finals in the spring Each team is then allowed to add two participants for a total of six people per team two members of each team present oral argument in this round typically before a panel of one federal appellate judge one district judge and one state court judge In the competition s final round held in the fall of the 3L year the two remaining teams argue a case before a panel that usually consists of one U S Supreme Court justice and two judges from the United States courts of appeal Prizes are awarded for the best brief best oralist and best overall team The competition originally was organized around the school s now defunct law clubs The competition occurs primarily in students 2L year because the faculty found that for students who did not finish at the very top of their first year class it was hard for them to take the same interest in their work particularly in the work within the law clubs participation in which depends entirely upon their own volition Thus to encourage students to continue working hard the Ames finalists received prizes of 200 for first place and 100 for second place After several years of a single elimination tournament the format changed to a round robin that more closely resembles the current qualifying round structure 4 The final round competition is one of the most popular events at the Law School each year especially because a justice from the U S Supreme Court usually presides The Ames Final Round has occasionally been televised on C SPAN Many have found the Ames competition to be a demanding but rewarding experience Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court an Ames semi finalist in her time at Harvard wrote that what was most rewarding was the opportunity to work as a team with other students We could debate argue and challenge each other as we analyzed the case and prepared the briefs The process was much more satisfying than the routine of classroom lectures and solitary examinations The Ames competition provided a realistic view of what practicing law could be like 5 Winners EditPrevious notable winners include 6 Noted Second Circuit judge Henry Friendly 1927 3 California Supreme Court Justice Mathew Tobriner 1927 Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun 1932 Professor and author the Rev Dr Wallace Clift 1949 Best Brief Former Delaware governor Pierre S du Pont IV 1963 Greg Rosenbaum 1976 Former member of the California State Legislature Sheila Kuehl 1977 Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein 1977 Former Stanford Law School dean Kathleen Sullivan 1980 Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick 1981 Michael C Dorf 1989 Congressman Artur Davis 1992 Best Oralist not on winning team San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo 1995 Bathsheba Crocker 1995 Former assistant to the Solicitor General Kannon Shanmugam 1997 Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg 1999 Adam Szubin 1999 References Edit BSA Website Archived from the original on 2010 06 25 Retrieved 2010 04 06 Harvard Alumni Bulletin Vol 54 no 13 Harvard Alumni Association 1952 p 536 a b Gilmore Grant 2015 The Ages of American Law Second Edition The Storrs Lectures Series Yale University Press p 24 ISBN 9780300211047 A Centennial History of Harvard Law Archived from the original on 2021 10 04 Retrieved 2016 11 02 27 Harv Women s L J 367 2004 available here Archived June 5 2011 at the Wayback Machine Past Winners of Ames Competition Harvard Law School Board of Student Advisors Archived from the original on 2013 10 29 Retrieved 2013 10 28 External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ames Moot Court Competition amp oldid 1146675863, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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