Showcase Your Skills
Rutgers Law School prepares students to enter our criminal and civil courtrooms. Both foundational and advanced courses are offered throughout the curriculum.
Advocacy at Camden
Trial and Appellate Advocacy and Moot Court Competitions
Bridging Legal Theory and Practice
At Rutgers Law, you can elevate your advocacy skills through participation in Trial and Appellate Advocacy programs, Moot Courts, Negotiation, and Arbitration competitions. Our advocacy programs are trial- and courtroom-tested. They will give you the confidence to begin a career as a litigator with broad exposure to all the skills necessary to be an accomplished advocate.
Trial Advocacy
Get extensive practice and training to become an effective advocate in court. Dozens of students hone their skills and put theory to practice every year in our Trial Advocacy program.
The Core
Our Trial Advocacy curriculum is a 7-credit module that is coordinated with the Evidence course. This module allows students to learn evidence in the context of 2 casefiles during the fall semester and then go to trial on those same cases in the spring, including a final jury trial.
Hunter Appellate Advocacy
The full-year Hunter program is dedicated to guiding students as they develop skills in advanced brief writing and oral advocacy.
Rich Legacy
The Hunter Appellate Advocacy program has been in continuous operation at Rutgers Law School in Camden since 1989. The program honors the late Judge James Hunter III, who served for nearly two decades on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Upon Judge Hunter’s passing in 1989, his former law clerks created and endowed the Hunter program, which is dedicated to guiding students as they develop skills in advanced brief writing and oral advocacy.
Competitive Program
Upper-level students study rhetorical theory in the fall, honing their research, analysis, and legal writing skills. In the spring, students learn the art of oral advocacy and practice their skills in an intramural moot court competition at the U.S. Courthouse in Camden. The competition is judged by panels of volunteer lawyers and judges and culminates in a final round judged by members of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal District courts, and the NJ Supreme Court. Many judges are Hunter alums themselves.
External Advocacy Competitions
Explore moot court and mock trial competitions, and delve into the diverse experiences you can gain in these legal contests. Camden’s upper-level students annually engage in national and international competitions.
Competitions
Go head-to-head with students from across the globe. We regularly send students to compete in national and international competitions such as:
*Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition
*Vis Arbitration Competition in Vienna, Austria
*Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition
*Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (the world’s largest moot court competition)
Get featured for your accomplishments and add global experience to your resume.
More Opportunities
The opportunities for honing advocacy and writing skills are plentiful. You are invited to explore other competitions and moot court opportunities not listed here.
Contact Us
For specific information about Camden’s moot court programs, please contact Professor JC Lore: jclore@rutgers.edu. For information about other competitions and academic credit, please contact Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Victoria Chase: vlchase@camden.rutgers.edu.