Appellate Practice/Dean Dunmore Moot Court Program
The Moot Court Board sponsors the national topic inter-mural moot court competition teams and runs the Case Western Reserve School of Law’s Dean Dunmore competition.

Students interested in competing on moot court teams on issues involving constitutional law and civil rights begin by taking the Appellate Practice course. This year-long course includes intensive brief-writing instruction in the first semester. In the second semester students engage in practice oral arguments and then compete in the student-run Dunmore Moot Court.
To showcase the school’s talent, seeded rounds of the intramural Dunmore competition are judged by distinguished senior practitioners from the Cleveland bar. The finals are before a three-judge panel of federal district and circuit court judges. The winner of the 2012-2013 Dunmore competition was Samantha Chassin ’14, and the runner-up was Rachel Brainard ’14.

At the end of the second semester all students from the course are eligible to try out to represent Case Western in national competitions. Second semester is also when students apply and interview for the Moot Court Board.


The constitutional and civil rights competitions entered by the school vary yearly based upon student interest and scheduling. Case Western has recently sent teams to the Vanderbilt First Amendment, the Craven Team, the National Moot Court, and the American Bar Association competitions.

Recent years have seen tremendous performance by the teams:

The Vanderbilt First Amendment Team
CWRU's First Amendment Moot Court Team of Emily Gurskis ‘13 and Josh Williams ‘13 had a successful trip to the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition sponsored by the First Amendment Center and Vanderbilt University Law School. Out of 38 teams, the team won the award for Best Brief in the competition. They also advanced to the quarterfinals, where they lost in a very close round. The competition is recognized as one of the nation’s finest constitutional law competitions and attracts many of the nation’s top law schools. The team was coached by Steven Chang, a 2011 graduate and a past member of the team, and Professor Jennifer Cupar.


The Craven Moot Court Team
Our Craven Moot Court team had an outstanding finish of second place in the J. Braxton Craven Memorial Moot Court competition at the UNC School of Law in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This year’s competition involved complex First and Fifth Amendment issues related to a federal law regulating the content of cigarette packaging. Team members Matt Grashoff ‘13, Jeff Bieszczak ‘13, and Thomas Au ’13 successfully made it through six rounds of arguments before proceeding to the finals. Four Circuit Court judges presided over the final oral argument and they agreed it was “the best oral argument they had ever heard.” The team was supervised by Professor Maureen Kenny. This invitation-only constitutional law competition draws teams from across the country.





The National Moot Court Team
Our National Moot Court Team, composed of Jessica Feil ‘13, Josh Friedman 13 and Hope Lu ‘13, competed in the 63rd Annual National Tournament Final Rounds in New York City.  Each year over 150 teams compete in the regional National Moot Court competitions around the nation, with the top two teams advancing to the National Tournament.  Our National Team advanced to the National Tournament after defeating 14 other teams in the regional rounds.  The National Team was runner-up for best brief in the regional rounds and the team’s brief received the fifth highest score out of the 30 teams competing.  After securing a No. 3 seed based on brief and oral scores, and  success over many teams from the preliminary rounds through the quarterfinals, our team was edged out by University of Georgia in the "Final Four." The team was coached by Professor Katy Mercer.


The American Bar Association Moot Court Team
Our ABA Moot Court Team A -- Ukeme Awakessien Jeter ‘13, Chris Ivey ‘13, and John Sheets ‘13 made it to the semi-finals at the Boston Regional Competition.  Although they lost by a very narrow margin to the second-ranked team, in making it to the semi-finals Team A outperformed 21 other teams, thus finishing ahead of over half of the 40 teams competing.  The team was coached by Professor Katy Mercer.

Anyone interested in information regarding the Appellate Practice course or moot court program can contact Professor Jonathan Entin, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, at jle@case.edu, 216-368-6362.


Case Western School of Law sponsors four international law moot court teams:

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Super Regional Competition
Our Jessup International Law Moot Court team went 4-0 in the Preliminary Rounds of the competition in 2013, beating University of Chicago, Notre Dame, Illinois, and Buffalo, before dropping a split decision in the elimination round to the competition champion, Wayne State.  Our team also won a top ten brief award.  Team members Tyler Talbert ’13, Hyder Syed ‘13, Katlyn Kraus ‘13, Elizabeth Horan ‘14, and Josh Lisk ’14 were coached by Professor Michael Scharf and Conor McLauglin ’07.

The Case Western Reserve University School of Law Jessup Team has made it to the international rounds six times in nine years.  Now in its 53rd year, the Jessup is a simulation of a dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the U.N.  Hundreds of teams from around the world compete. 

Niagara International Moot Court Competition
Our Canada-United States Law Institute administers the Niagara International Moot Court Competition, an international law moot that draws fifteen to thirty teams from law schools in Canada and the United States. The Niagara International Moot Court team, consisting of Sarah Nasta ‘13, Hilarie Henry ‘14, Mary Kim ‘15 and Tyler Kimberly ‘15 finished in second place in the international competition.  On the way to the final round, our team beat a number of U.S. and Canadian law schools until being edged out in the Final Round.  Our team won the award for Best Applicant Brief, and Mary Kim took home the award for Best Overall Advocate in the competition.  The team was coached by Professors Michael Benza and Cassandra Robertson. 

For more information go to: http://cusli.org/niagara/index.html

Willem E. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court
The CWRU Vis Team, advised by Professor Timothy Webster, deals with international commercial disputes, usually regarding a breach of contract. The team travels to Hong Kong each year for a weeklong competition with some of the world’s strongest moot programs. Students argue in a quasi-judicial setting featuring three arbitrators and two teams representing the Claimant and Respondent, respectively. Students consult substantive law, such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), academic treatises and the arbitration rules of the forum to craft arguments and advocate for their client. Many of the world’s leading arbitration law firms and arbitral institutions sponsor the Vis Moot, and many of the volunteer arbitrators are themselves past participants or advanced practitioners.

The 2012-2013 CWRU Vis Team of Sana Ahmed ‘13, Ruchi Asher ‘13, Michael Jacobson ‘13, Megan Larkin ‘15, David Litman ‘15, and Mark Mikhaiel ’13 was one of 93 teams that competed over six days.  Although the team did not advance to the elimination rounds, numerous arbitrators offered strong endorsements of the team’s skill and accomplishment, and ultimately the team received an Honorable Mention for Best Respondent’s Memorandum.



Ault Mock Trial Team
The Ault Mock Trial Team is an intensive academic and skill based program designed to prepare students for trial practice. Students learn to develop trial strategies, examine witnesses, present arguments to juries and judges, use and understand the rules of evidence and procedure while becoming familiar with being in a courtroom. The program is focused on providing students with practical exposure to trial tactics while emphasizing the academic areas of evidence and procedure. It focuses on both the art and science of trial work.

The Team represents Case Western Reserve University School of Law at national and regional trial competitions including the Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition, the American Association for Justice National Competition, and the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County Mock Trial Competition. The Team also hosts an annual competition with schools from Ohio and Kentucky.



The program is open to all second- and third-year students and membership on the team is gained through an open, school wide competition. Students who participate for one or two years receive academic credit.

The 2012-2013 Ault Mock Trial Team sent two teams to the Texas Young Lawyers Association’s National Trial Competition Regional Championship, and both teams were among the eight that advanced to the regional semifinals.  The team members who represented our law school were Deanna Richards ’13, Amy Wojnarwsky ’13, Robert Simmonds ’13, Andrew Clark ’13, Rachel Berman-Vaporis ’14, James Stevick ’14, Lauren Fahlbeck ’14, and MaryBeth Mussey ’14.  Professor Yuri Linetsky and alumnus Mike Pascoe ‘06 coached the teams. 

Our law school sent another team to the 50th Annual Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County Mock Trial Competition in Pittsburgh, in each teams present full-day trials based on real cases litigated by Academy member lawyers.  This year’s team of Noah Fowle ’13, Tom Kelly, ‘13, and Yelena Grinberg ’14 secured a verdict over their opponent by a wide point margin.  The competing team members were supported by a shadow team consisting of Mark Norris ’14, Czarina Powell ’14, and Nathan Zion ’14, who played the roles of opposing counsel at practices.  The team was coached by Professor Yuri Linetsky.


Anyone interested in information regarding the Ault Mock Trial Team should contact Professor Yuri Linetsky, Director of the Mock Trial Team, at yxl19@case.edu, 216-368-6855.