National Health Law Moot Court Team

Competition

The National Health Law Moot Court Competition is sponsored by Southern Illinois University School of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Medical Humanities, American College of Legal Medicine, and American College of Legal Medicine Foundation.

This year's competition will be held November 1-2, 2024 , in Carbondale, IL.

The sponsors’ goal for the competition is “to develop the art of appellate advocacy and to encourage research in the growing field of health law and ethics.”

Eligibility

Day students who have completed their first year and evening students who have completed their second year.

Apply

Applications to join Suffolk Law's National Health Law Moot Court Team are accepted until Monday, July 3, 2024, by 11:00 PM To apply, email your résumé, law school transcript, and writing sample to Kara Ryan

Factors considered in selecting team members include:

  • law school GPA;
  • successful performance in LPS and Constitutional Law;
  • interest in health law;
  • interest in brief writing and oral advocacy; and
  • ability to commit significant amount of time to the team in August and September for brief writing and in October for oral argument practice.

In addition, consideration will be given to an applicant’s commitment, experience, professionalism, and ability to work collaboratively. In evaluating capacity for collaborative work, consideration will be given to factors such as experience working with teams in employment or academic settings, or successful completion of Problem Solving course or similar coursework.

Some applicants will be invited for an interview. The team will be selected by early August, 2023. The team will consist of 2-3 members. Although Suffolk Law typically enters one team in the competition, on occasion more than one team may be selected.

Opportunities for Team Members

  • Work collaboratively as part of a team.
  • Plan and write an appellate brief.
  • Develop coherent legal theories and persuasive arguments to support an advocacy position.
  • Receive oral advocacy feedback from diverse faculty and practitioners.
  • Possible academic credit (2 credits).

Work Involved

All of the work involved requires a significant amount of collaboration among team members.

The competition problem is released in early August.

The first part of preparation is to produce a U.S. Supreme Court brief, which is due in late September. The brief is worth 40 percent of the competition score. The brief score is merged with oral argument scores. A strong brief is essential for a team to advance beyond the first day of the competition.

After submitting the brief, team members collaboratively prepare for the oral argument part of the competition.  Preparation requires: strategy meetings and practice sessions by team members; practice sessions with co-advisors; and practice sessions with alumni and faculty volunteer judges. At least three practice sessions a week are held in October. The goal is to work continuously to refine and improve both the content and delivery of the oral arguments through this intensive month-long preparation.

The first weekend in November, the team travels to Carbondale, Ill., for the oral argument competition.

Team Advisors

Renée Landers
Professor of Law and Director Health Law Concentration
Phone: 617-305-1686
Email: [email protected]

Maritza Karmely
Phone: 617-573-8100
Email: [email protected]