Learning by Doing: Trial and Appellate Advocacy

In 2009, Chicago-Kent became the first law school in more than 30 years to win the National Moot Court Competition two years in a row. And, in 2008, Chicago-Kent became one of the few schools to win the National Trial Competition in two consecutive years. While we're very proud of the successes of our trial and appellate advocacy programs, our focus is on what's most important about training in both settings—preparing you for the practice of law.

Trial Advocacy

Fully 70 percent of Chicago-Kent students elect to cultivate courtroom skills by studying trial advocacy. Our rigorous trial advocacy curriculum, led by a talented corps of judges, prosecutors, public defenders and private practitioners, demands effort, skill, intelligence, and a clear sense of duty to court and client.

Founded in 1971, the program offers three courses to Chicago-Kent students in general—Trial Advocacy 1 (in full-semester and eight-week intensive formats), Trial Advocacy 2 and Litigation Technology. In addition, a special six-month session provides training for an elite group of students selected to compete on the law school's interscholastic trial advocacy teams at the local, regional and national levels.

Learn more about trial advocacy at Chicago-Kent.

Appellate Advocacy

At Chicago-Kent, dozens of talented professors and practitioners train students in the art of appellate advocacy, including advanced brief writing and persuasive oral argument. The focus of our curriculum is the Ilana Diamond Rovner Program in Appellate Advocacy, which provides sophisticated and systematic instruction for students invited to join our highly selective Moot Court Honor Society.

Moot Court Honor Society students complete intensive course work in appellate litigation and compete intramurally and in tournaments throughout the United States. They receive careful mentoring in teamwork, accountability and collegiality. Chicago-Kent also fields student teams in competitions independent of the Moot Court Honor Society. These competitions generally focus on specialized areas of law, including international, environmental and intellectual property law.

Learn more about appellate advocacy at Chicago-Kent.