Moot Court Program


A male student argues a case at a podium in the Snell Courtroom.

Program overview

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 2023, KU Law’s Moot Court Program ranked 10th nationwide.

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 Robert C. Foulston and George Siefkin Prizes 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.

2023-24 Moot Court Council

Moot Court Exec Board: Jillian Roy, Justin Shock, Hailey Reed, Makaylah Jones

Executive Board

Makaylah Jones
Hailey Reed
Jillian Roy
Justin Shock 

Council

Karlie Bischoff
Chris Birzer
Mackenzie Clark
Maverick Edwards
Jamie Gallagher
Madisen Hane
Natalie Jabben
Arielle Jacobs
Jade Kearney
Hayley Koontz
John Langmaid
Anthony Leeks
AJ Margve
Caitlin McPartland
Justin Shock
Isabela Solorio

Faculty Advisor

Pamela Keller

Competition Coaches

Elizabeth Cateforis | Criminal Procedure, Environmental Law, Thurgood Marshall
John Head | International Law
Pamela Keller | National Moot Court, Veteran's Law, Employment Law
Stephen McAllister | Federal Constitutional Law, State Constitutional Law
Uma Outka | Environmental Law
Joyce Rosenberg | Employment Law
Thomas Stacy | First Amendment Law, Criminal Law
Stephen Ware | Bankruptcy Law
Shawn Watts |  Federal Indian Law

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.

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Advocates: Clayton Anderson, Carly Cook, Sam Crawford, Grace Lahr, Kelli Ludlum, Quan Nguyen, Leah Stein

2023-24 Shook, Hardy & Bacon Advocates

Clayton Anderson
Carly Cook
Sam Crawford
Grace Lahr
Kelli Ludlum
Quan Nguyen
Leah Stein

Chief Justice John G. Roberts judges a moot court competition at KU Law. Judge Roberts is pictured in front of a blue background.

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.

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.

Questions?

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