In 2013, Loyola built upon its award-winning advocacy program by offering an appellate moot court opportunity specifically for practitioners. Attorneys with pending oral argument dates in federal or state appellate courts can have their cases thoroughly mooted by faculty experts and experienced litigators in the area. The moots represent a significant resource for practitioners, a unique pedagogical opportunity for students, and another meaningful way for faculty to contribute to the development of the law.
Loyola has hosted moots for cases later argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, the California Supreme Court, and the California Courts of Appeal, among others, involving a wide range of issues. Feedback from practitioners who have availed themselves of the opportunity to moot their cases has been extraordinarily positive.
Loyola's practitioner moot builds on some of Loyola’s competitive advantages. Loyola Law School’s faculty boasts more former Ninth Circuit clerks than any other law school in the Ninth Circuit. Loyola also has an extensive array of faculty members with appellate practice experience and expertise mooting appellate advocates, including mooting members of the U.S. Solicitor General's Office for arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court. Loyola’s Alarcón Advocacy Center houses, among other assets, a Ninth Circuit student clinic, and the strength of Loyola's Appellate Advocacy course is also reflected in the school's repeat champion student appellate moot teams. And Loyola has longstanding close relationships with consistent appellate practitioners, including the ACLU, the Office of the Federal Public Defender, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Any interested attorney may request a Loyola practitioner moot (just email Prof. Aimee Dudovitz or Prof. Aaron Caplan with the request). If the case is accepted, a coordinator from LLS will recruit Loyola faculty members (and, where appropriate, subject-matter experts from the community) to appear on an appellate moot panel. With the practitioner’s permission, students will collect the briefs, provide bench memoranda, and observe the oral argument. Argument sessions can be scheduled to suit the practitioners’ preferences. In most circumstances, it will also be possible to offer a recording of the argument sessions, if the practitioners wish.
Loyola moots are offered free of charge. To prevent any conflict or appearance of conflict of interest, only one side of a case may use the program. All work related to the moot session (including the argument session itself) will be held strictly confidential.