CCBA Moot Court Competition Sees Record Participation

The Boyd School of Law hosted the finals for the 12th Annual Clark County Bar Association Moot Court Competition on April 23 and 24 in the law school's Thomas & Mack Moot Court Facility.

Ninety six students participated in this year's CCBA Moot Court Competition, breaking last year's record of 80 students participating in the competition.

During the competition, students argued issues they wrote about and argued in their Lawyering Process class. They argued “on-brief” and “off-brief” (i.e., for the other side). Local judges and attorneys judged the competition.

First-year law student Will Thompson won first place in the competition. First-year law student Francesca Resch took second place and first-year law students Chelsey Bosworth and Matt Morris were finalists.

"I enjoyed the opportunity to compete and break up the monotony that goes along with the first year of law school.  The best part was being able to argue in front of a judge from the Nevada State Supreme Court and a Federal District Court judge.  That provided a taste of what arguing in the "big leagues" might be like," Thompson said.

To prepare for the competition Thompson worked with his legal writing professor, Lara Nelson; the legal writing teacher's assistant, Nicole Malich and members from the Society of Advocates (SOA), an honorary, co-curricular organization at the law school.

"I made sure that I was familiar with my argument, but most of all, I needed to become comfortable articulating my points.  My ability to converse with the judges instead of reading notes to them was the difference in my success," Thompson said.

Participation in the competition is a requirement of Boyd students wishing to join Society of Advocate. To become a member, students must compete in at least the preliminary round of the competition.

It was co-sponsored by the Clark County Bar Association and the New Lawyers Committee. Third-year law student Seth Floyd worked as the Student Representative for the competition and helped coordinate the event.