All posts tagged: Moot Court

An Unofficial Overview of Temple Law’s Competitive Offerings

Introduction Being on a law review, moot court, or trial team gives students valuable advocacy practice and looks great on a resume, however competition can be fierce. Thankfully, Temple has numerous opportunities to participate in these prestigious offerings. With five moot court teams, two law reviews, a trial team, and a patent drafting competition, there are many options for students to choose from. Academic credit is provided for participation. Note that all of these are subject to change, and Temple may not participate in all competitions every year. Where to begin? Read all about them below! Law Reviews Temple has two law reviews: The Temple Law Review and Temple’s International and Comparative Law Journal. The Temple Law Review was founded in 1927. It is a student-edited, quarterly journal dedicated to providing a forum for the expression of new legal thought and scholarly commentary on important developments, trends, and issues in the law. Students must compete in the write-on competition to be considered for membership. This competition usually takes place about a week after spring finals. …

IP Moot Court: Leaving your Comfort Zone

This year, I had the honor of being one of four team members to represent Temple Law in the American Intellectual Property Law Association Moot Court Competition. Temple traditionally fields two teams of two students, and this year’s regional competition was held in Boston. Intellectual property is an umbrella term covering several discrete areas of law. This year’s problem had a patent issue and a jurisdictional issue. The problem was released in the fall of 2017 and my teammate and I started working on it in October. We were fortunate enough to be coached by Temple Law professor Don Harris and Assistant Dean Shyam Nair. The first thing we had to do was write two briefs, one for each party. It took a certain amount of mental gymnastics to advocate for one party and then switch to the other side. The patent issue was one of obviousness. In order for a patent to be valid, it has to be non-obvious. “Obviousness” is the subject of much litigation and a great deal of research had to …

James Shygelski Moot Court

A Day in the Life of a Moot Court Finalist

It’s Monday. 7a.m. I am 33 hours away from the final round of the Samuel Polsky Moot Court Competition. These days, my mornings start a little earlier than normal. I pace my apartment floor, still in my pajamas, practicing my presentation and carefully plotting every detail of a complex legal argument. My thoughts on the cases and the policies supporting my plea are interrupted only by pauses where I anticipate questions will fall and by the subtle hum of coffee brewing in the background.