The Appellate Lawyers Association (ALA) 2022 National Moot Court Competition was held November 4-5.

Past judges for the final round include: Judge Diane Wood, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr. and Judge Edmond E. Chang, U.S. District Judges for the Northern District of Illinois; Justice Anne Burke and Justice Mary Jane Theis, Supreme Court of Illinois; Justice Brent E. Dickson, Supreme Court of Indiana; Justice David Prosser, Jr., Supreme Court of Wisconsin; Justice Robert Cook, Justice Donald C. Hudson, Justice William E. Holdridge, Justice Margaret Stanton McBride and Justice M. Carol Pope of the Appellate Court of Illinois.

Recent participating schools include University of Wisconsin Law School, Baylor University Law School, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, St. Louis University School of Law, Liberty University School of Law, Northern Illinois University College of Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, DePaul University College of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Barry University, Brooklyn Law School, Florida State University College of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, South Texas College of Law Houston, St. Mary’s University School of Law, Western State College of Law and Chicago-Kent College of Law.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS
First Place Overall Competition Winner
       •  University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Second Place Overall Competition Winner
       •   Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Best Oral Argument
        •  Claire McCall, Southwestern Law School
Best Brief
•  Baylor University School of Law

Attention ALA Members!  Be Part of the Moot Court 2023 Team
Planning for the ALA moot court competition is underway and we want you to be a part of the team that makes this competition stand above the others!  Check back for more information.  

If you have any questions, or are interested in helping draft the problem or offering any other assistance, please email Brad Jarka, Al Muntges or Ross Holberg.

SPONSORSHIP

The Appellate Lawyers Association is offering your firm a chance to receive national recognition through its annual Moot Court Competition.  Check back for more information.    

The Appellate Lawyers Association Moot Court Committee would like to thank the following sponsors for contributing to the 2022 Moot Court competition.

Platinum Sponsor

Taft Law Firm
At Taft, our 675 attorneys work as one team, driven and committed to helping you succeed. Our attorneys listen and understand that innovative, value-creating solutions help our clients reach their goals. Our collaborative approach, advanced technological resources, and depth of services can transform what you expect from your legal team. The firm practices across a wide range of industries, in virtually every area of law, including Business and Finance, Business Restructuring, Environmental, Health and Life Sciences, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Litigation, Private Client, Real Estate, and Tax law. Since 1885, Taft has maintained a constant focus: to provide clients, both large and small, with legal advice and services that meet the highest possible standards. To learn more, visit www.taftlaw.com.

Silver Sponsor

Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
For nearly two decades, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC has been one of Chicago’s pre-eminent civil litigation law practices. DBMS frequently and successfully tries complex, high-exposure cases in the country’s most challenging jurisdictions. The firm focuses on the areas of professional liability, product liability, insurance coverage, commercial litigation and appeals.

DBMS’ approach to litigation is highly responsive to the goals and needs of the clients. Each client and each case is treated uniquely as the firm and the client develop the best approach to litigation strategy.

DBMS is proud of its reputation among judges, colleagues and opponents as an aggressive and thorough firm that is highly professional in its conduct of litigation. The firm’s superb record at trial encourages opponents to try and resolve matters early in the litigation process.

Law Offices of Michael W. Rathsack

Forde Law Offices
Forde Law Offices LLP is a seven-lawyer firm that focuses its practice on commercial litigation and appeals, as well as residential and commercial real estate transactions and zoning matters. Our clients include individuals, partnerships, major corporations, and some of the leading lawyers and law firms in Chicago. We have been lead counsel or co-counsel in some of the most important cases in Illinois, including litigation involving the demutualization of the Chicago Board of Trade, cost-of-living adjustments for Illinois state court judges, and the election challenge to the then-mayoral candidate (now mayor) of the City of Chicago. We have defended corporations and corporate officers in shareholder derivative actions and in cases brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission; and we have represented plaintiffs in business and governmental disputes, including the Speaker of Illinois House of Representatives and President of the Illinois Senate in a constitutional challenge to actions by the Governor in withholding salaries from members of the Legislature. We continue to serve our clients in the federal courts and the courts of Illinois, Indiana, and Delaware.

Gold Sponsor

The Diversity Scholarship Foundation, NFP

TESTIMONIALS

“The Appellate Lawyers Association is moot court at its finest!  I am fortunate to have met and competed with talented law students, intelligent attorneys, and prestigious judges from all over the United States.  The entire process enhanced my appreciation for the courtroom, the appellate practice, and the law.” - Moot Court Student Participant

"I enjoyed participating in the ALA competition this year.  The judges that we argued before were particularly helpful with their feedback." - Moot Court Student Participant

“Using experienced appellate lawyers as judges is far more valuable to our moot court students than are trial-lawyer judges who often don't understand the difference between advocacy to a jury and advocacy to a panel of judges. Your judges were superb.  I've never seen a more well-prepared group of judges." - Moot Court Faculty Advisor