Overview
Since 1989, student advocates from across the United States and Canada have participated in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition hosted by Pace Law School in White Plains, New York. Recognized as the preeminent environmental law moot in the United States, the moot tests skills in appellate brief writing and oral advocacy on issues drawn from real cases, providing experience in environmental litigation first hand. The Moot draws in excess of 200 competitors from diverse law schools and 200 attorneys who serve as judges for three days of oral arguments to create a rigorous academic experience. The Competition is distinctive in that 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 late November and go 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. Previous legal problems have included illegal dumping of hazardous waste, vicarious criminal liability of corporate officers for their company's environmental crimes and commerce clause limits on water pollution regulation. Our team works closely with the many outstanding environmental and natural resources faculty members at GULC.
Past Results
In 2008, Lindsay Hogan and Sarah Fox made the final round competition. They beat out 69 other teams to make it to finals, with Sarah also taking home the Best Oralist award.
In 2007, Kendrick Wilson and Mika Ikeda were the National Champions of the competition.
