Moot Court Program

KU Law offers an extensive Moot Court Program with a long tradition of success and excellence. The program consistently ranks among the nation’s top 30. In 2024, KU Law’s Moot Court Program ranked 25th nationwide and in 2023 it ranked 10th.

Students' first experience in moot court comes in their first-year Lawyering Skills class. All students write a summary judgment brief and engage in an oral argument.

All second-year students are eligible to compete in KU's Second-Year In-House Moot Court Competition. This is a one-credit course in which individuals write an appellate brief and give a mock argument before a panel of judges.

The best advocates in the competition receive the Polsinelli Awards for Excellence in Appellate Advocacy. Top performers from KU's Moot Court Council represent KU in various national and international moot court competitions.

Moot Court Program Information

Students on the Moot Court Council represent KU in various national and international moot court competitions. They also supervise the Second-Year In-House Competition under the direction of Professor Pamela Keller. For questions about the council, contact Pam Keller at pkeller@ku.edu.

2024-25 Moot Court Council

Executive Board

Lauren Bretz
Sam Crawford
Skylee James

Council

Clayton Anderson
Karen Campbell
Taylor Cleveringa
Easton Hunt
Grace Lahr
Joshua Lollar
Kelli Ludlum
Ellie Moser
Emily Moyes
Andrew Murphy
Quan Nguyen
Gabby Phillips
Tara Phipps
Vanya Racy
Leah Stein

Faculty Advisor

Pamela Keller

Competition Coaches

Second-year law students have the opportunity to participate in the Shook, Hardy & Bacon (SHB) Advocates program. Professors in the Lawyering Skills program select students from each spring Lawyering II class to invite. Students selected are those who, in the professors' view, achieved the highest combined performance in brief-writing and oral advocacy.

Students in the Shook, Hardy & Bacon Advocates program become 2L members of SHB-sponsored national moot court teams.

2024-25 Shook, Hardy & Bacon Advocates

Lane Barrette
Carson Cargill
Lucas Dorrell
Alec Nee
Will Orlowski
Madi Stapleton

Students in the in-house competition work on a mock appellate problem before the United States Supreme Court. The final round of the competition is judged by active federal and state court judges. In past final rounds, KU students have argued before United States Supreme Court and Kansas Supreme Court justices, U.S. Circuit and U.S. District Court judges, and Kansas appellate and trial judges. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas have judged the final rounds in past years.

The subject area of the competition varies from year to year. Each individual will have to write on one issue. The top 16 individuals become KU's Moot Court Council members in their third year of law school. They represent KU in various national and international moot court competitions.

Polsinelli law firm provides prizes for the best oral advocates and for the authors of the best briefs in the competition.

2024 Polsinelli Moot Court Awards:

First Place Oral Advocate: Matt Lemanowicz
Second Place Oral Advocate: Lane Barrette
Finalists: Remi Moeller and Hunter Bach
First Place Oral Advocate Preliminary Rounds: Mason Hernandez
First Place Petitioner Brief: Harrison Polen
Second Place Petitioner Brief: Thea Hack
First Place Respondent Brief: Lane Barrette
Second Place Respondent Brief: Remi Moeller

2023 Polsinelli Moot Court Awards:

Winning Teams: Skylee James and Lauren Bretz, Leah Stein and Karen Campbell
Finalists: Quan Nguyen and Gabby Phillips, Joshua Lollar and Naomi Franklin
First Place Oral Advocate: Skylee James
Second Place Oral Advocate: Quan Nguyen
First Place Brief: Skylee James and Lauren Bretz
Second Place Brief: Leah Stein and Karen Campbell

2022 Polsinelli Moot Court Awards:

Winning Teams: Jillian Roy and Karlie Bischoff, Maverick Edwards and Chris Birzer
Finalists: Madisen Hane, Natalie Jabben, John Langmaid and Anthony Leeks
First Place Oral Advocate: Jillian Roy
Second Place Oral Advocate: Chris Birzer
First Place Brief: Jamie Gallagher and Andrew Henderson
Second Place Brief: Maverick Edwards and Chris Birzer

Fall 2021 Polsinelli Moot Court Awards:

Winning Teams: Allyson Monson and Amanda McElfresh, Jacob Barefield and Emily Depew
Best Oral Advocate: Amanda McElfresh
Second Place Oral Advocate: Emily Depew
Best Brief: Maddy Tannahill and Brien Stonebreaker
Second Best Brief: Caleb Hanlon and Steven Hendler

2021 Polsinelli Moot Court Awards:

Best Oral Advocate: Rachel Zierden
Finalists: Alec Feather, Konnor Manley, Grace Stewart-Johnson, Rachel Zierden
Best Brief: Rachel Zierden and Konnor Manley
Second Best Brief: Alec Feather and Grace Stewart-Johnson

2020 Polsinelli Moot Court Awards

Best Oral Advocate: Austyn Caisse
Finalists: Austyn Caisse, David Biegel, Sydney Buckley, Caleb Kampsen, Peyton Pender, Benjamin Ramburg, Jake Schmidt
Best Brief: Benjamin Ramburg and Caleb Kampsen
Second Best Brief: Jake Schmidt and Peyton Pender

Practice makes perfect: KU’s moot court

All rise, KU Law’s moot court is in session. With a long-standing tradition of success and excellence, KU Law's moot court program consistently ranks among the top 30 programs of its kind in the country.

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Questions?

Pamela Keller
Clinical Professor of Law
Moot Court Faculty Coach
pkeller@ku.edu
785-864-9274

Moot Court Program

Moot Court Program Information