Moot Court at Drake Law is where strong writers become powerful advocates. Team members collaborate with faculty advisors and experienced attorneys to dissect appellate records, refine legal arguments, and anticipate challenging questions from the bench. Through intensive practices and regional and national competitions, students strengthen their analytical thinking, elevate their advocacy skills, and gain the poise required to excel in high-stakes legal settings.

National Moot Court Team

Over 150 law schools compete in the National Moot Court competition, with regionals held during the fall semester and nationals in the spring. Students prepare appellate briefs and oral arguments for competition at the regional level, and the top two schools from each region advance to the national competition in New York City. The competition allows students to hone their appellate advocacy skills by arguing before practicing attorneys and judges. Support for the National Moot Court Team is provided in part by the Henry G. and Norma Peterson Charitable Trust.

2025-26 National Moot Court Team
Molli Bauer
Jordan Heeter
Caleb Lubbers
Anna Olson
Colin Payton
Samantha Stewart

Coach: Louis Sloven

To learn more, contact Louis Sloven
louis.sloven@drake.edu

Visit the National Moot Court Competition website.

ABA NAAC Moot Court Team

The ABA NAAC Moot Court Team is Drake Law School’s general-topic spring moot court competition team. The National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) is organized by the American Bar Association (ABA) and emphasizes the development of written and oral advocacy skills through a realistic advocacy experience.

Two teams of three individuals are selected each year to compete. The ABA releases a hypothetical appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and each team writes a brief and argues in the regional competition in front of a mock court. The regional competitions are held at six different locations across the nation, and the regional winners move on to the finals.

2025-26 ABA NAAC Moot Court Team
TBA
Coach: Thomas Bakke

Visit the ABA NAAC Moot Court Competition Website.

Environmental Law Moot Court Team

The National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition is hosted by Pace Law School in White Plains, N.Y. Recognized as the preeminent environmental law moot in the United States, the competition tests skills in appellate brief writing and oral advocacy on issues drawn from real cases, providing experience in environmental litigation firsthand.

In the competition, three adverse teams argue the issues, reflecting the fact that environmental litigation frequently involves multiple parties: the government, a public interest group, and a member of the regulated industry.

Teams write and file their briefs for their respective parties in early December and come to the Pace campus in February for the oral phase of the competition. Those with the highest combined scores for both the written brief and oral argument advance to succeeding rounds.

2025-26 Environmental Law Moot Court Team
Karrecia Crawley
Julia Lane
Isabelle Webber

Coach: Jerry Anderson and Danielle Neu

Visit the Environmental Law Moot Court Competition website.

Intellectual Property Moot Court Team

This competition introduces law students to important issues in U.S. trademark and unfair competition law. Students develop their brief writing and oral advocacy skills in a mock courtroom experience.

Students are expected to write a brief reflecting the issues in the fact pattern/problem, and then argue the case in regional and national competitions before a panel of volunteer attorneys, judges from various district and other courts, members of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and jurists from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The regional competition takes place in February. Two teams from each competition advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C., in March.

2025-26 Intellectual Property Moot Court Team
Marie Bowen
TBA
Coaches: Sayoko Blodgett-Ford, Mike Gilchrist, and Nick Krob

Visit the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition website.