Spring Qualifying Tournament: General Information
The Moot Court Board encourages all first and second year full-time students and first-, second- or third-year part-time WCL students to compete in the Spring Qualifying Tournament. The Spring Qualifying Tournament is the qualifying competition for participation on Inter-School Moot Court Team. In order to compete in national competitions the following year, such as the Jerome Prince Evidence Competition in New York City and the Freedom Forum First Amendment Competition in Nashville, Tennessee, students must excel in the Spring Qualifying Tournament. Generally, around fifteen students qualify. The Spring Qualifying Tournament also serves as the means by which the Moot Court Board selects those students who will represent it at the National Moot Court Tournament, sponsored by the Bar of the City of New York. The top three competitors at the Spring Tournament are offered a place on the National Tournament team.
The Spring Qualifying Tournament requires students to research and prepare their own briefs, as well as plan and present oral arguments. Executive Board members, faculty and practitioners serve as judges for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Judges, faculty, and practitioners serve as panelists in the final round. While the competition will produce a champion, it remains a qualifying tournament and, roughly, the top fifteen students will be select to join the Inter-school Team.
The Spring Qualifying Tournament, typically, is scheduled in March of the Spring semester. Care is taken to schedule the competition around The Joint-Journal Short Write-on Competition and Legal Rhetoric and Writing assignments. While participation in this tournament is challenging, given that competitors are required to argue both on brief and off brief, students are afforded the opportunity to travel across the nation and compete against the country's best law students.
