Each year, the Wake Forest Moot Court Board administers two intramural competitions: the George K. Walker Moot Court Competition, open to all 1L students, and the Edwin M. Stanley Moot Court Competition, open to all 2L and 3L students. Competitors research and brief one side of a hypothetical problem and then deliver a series of oral arguments before panels of judges. Distinguished federal and state judges preside over the semifinal and final rounds of each competition. Students become members of the Moot Court Board through their performances in these intramural competitions. In addition, members of the Moot Court Board have the opportunity to travel to other law schools to compete in interscholastic moot court competitions against students from all over the country. In addition to offering Moot Court members the opportunity to enhance appellate advocacy skills, these competitions allow students to explore specific areas of the law, test themselves against the skills of students at other law schools, and win accolades.
George K. Walker Moot Court Competition
The George K. Walker Moot Court Competition is the first chance for law students to join the Wake Forest Moot Court Board. It is a competition strictly for first year students and works hand-in-hand with Wake Forest’s Legal Analysis, Writing and Research (LAWR) program. The Walker Competition is held in the spring, once the first year students have finished their final LAWR II briefs. No additional writing is required. Once in the competition, the competitors’ scores are based on brief scores and oral argument scores. The competitors argue two appellate arguments, the first arguing the position of their Legal Research and Writing brief and the second of the opposing position. Moot Court members score each competitor’s brief and both oral arguments.
The final competitor score is based equally on the brief and oral argument score. The top sixteen competitors are invited to join the Moot Court Board. At its discretion, the Board also takes honorable mention finishers who demonstrated exceptional writing or oral advocacy skills during the preliminary rounds. The sixteen competitors then argue in elimination rounds, with the written brief score counting less in each round. The final competitor becomes the George K. Walker Moot Court Champion.
This competition is named after George K. Walker, a Professor of Law, who founded the intramural moot court competitions at Wake Forest. Professor Walker also teaches Admiralty, Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Federal Jurisdiction, International Law and National Security Law. He joined the Wake Forest law faculty in 1972 and was promoted to professor in 1977.
Edwin M. Stanley Moot Court Competition
The Stanley Competition is an intramural moot court competition held each fall semester and open to all second and third-year law students. This competition is held in honor of Judge Edwin M. Stanley, a distinguished Wake Forest alumnus and supporter, who served as a United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina from 1958 to 1968.
The competition is based on the problem taught in the Legal Analysis, Writing and Research III course during the fall semester. After competitors submit their briefs, they participate in at least two oral arguments, one “on-brief” and one “off-brief.” The briefs and first two rounds of the competition are judged by current moot court board members. The sixteen top overall competitors continue on in a single elimination tournament. Invitations to moot court board membership are awarded to these sixteen finalists, as well as several honorable mention qualifiers who exhibited exceptional skill in writing or oral advocacy.
The Sweet Sixteen and Quarterfinal rounds are judged by state trial judges, practicing attorneys, and law professors from our faculty. Judges from the North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hear arguments for the Semifinal round. The Stanley Competition Final round is usually judged by federal circuit judges. Recent judges of the Stanley Competition have included U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Judge Thomas Ambro, Jr. of the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Judge Andre Davis of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Judge Harris Hartz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and the Honorable Rhoda R. Billings, former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Interscholastic Competitions
Each year, Wake Forest Moot Court sends teams of Moot Court Board members to a number of interscholastic competitions. The subject matter and specific format of each competition varies, but the general premise is the same: each team must analyze, research and develop arguments on one or more issues posed by the competition problem; write a brief or memorial detailing its arguments; and present its positions to a fictional appellate court by delivering oral arguments during the competition.