Jan. 18, 2019 — The nation's 16 top moot court teams will gather in Houston Jan. 23 to face off in the 11th annual Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship hosted by the Blakely Advocacy Institute of the University of Houston Law Center.
Moot court programs qualify for the competition based on a point system for their showings in tournaments throughout the previous academic year. By process of elimination over the course of three days of competition — judged by state and federal jurists and local practitioners — a true national champion is named.
"These teams are the best of the best," said Jim Lawrence, executive director of the Blakely Advocacy Institute who devised the nationally acclaimed point system to help quantify the most successful programs in teaching courtroom skills. "This year, student lawyers will draw upon their training to argue both sides of a hypothetical case involving the 2nd Amendment — specifically whether the right to sell firearms is secured under the amendment."
Competitors are:
The event will open with a symposium taking a broader look at the competition's specific "problem" by discussing the 2nd Amendment, its history, practical impact on individuals and states, and how government entities are dealing with gun rights.
The moot court competition begins at 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 24, in the Federal Courthouse, 515 Rusk Street, continues throughout Friday, and concludes with the Championship Round beginning at 4:00 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 26.
The symposium, "The Second Amendment: Where the Rubber Meets the Road," will be from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Jan. 24, at the Doubletree Hotel, 400 Dallas Street.
Speakers, including a gun rights attorney, a high school student gun-control advocate, and a Houston city councilman/former police officer, will debate both sides of the issue.
Click here to register. Attorneys earn 4 hours of CLE credit.
