Mooting
Interested in oral advocacy? Want to know what it feels like to argue before a Court of Appeal? The Mooting program at the Faculty of Law can help.
The Moot Court Committee is a student-run organization responsible for the law school’s extensive mooting program. The program offers students opportunities to practice and improve their oral advocacy skills.
Grand Moot
The most popular event in the moot court calendar is the annual Grand Moot, in which students can watch four of the law school's top mooters in action. Held in late September, the Grand Moot is a demonstration event where mooters appear before a distinguished bench that typically includes justices of the Ontario Court (General and Appellate Divisions) and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Beginning in 2006, the Grand Moot has been recorded on video and available for viewing over the web.
Mooting in First Year
During the second term of first year, students can try out for one of the two first-year competitive moots.
Arguing from facta prepared by upper-year students, the voluntary moots are a good opportunity for students to practise oral advocacy skills before fulfilling their moot requirement in second year. The Moot Court Committee supplies the cases and coaching, and students supply the performances.
A limited number of students participate in the annual competitive moots available in first year. Our teams compete:
Competitive Mooting
Upper-year students with a particular interest in mooting are eligible for selection to competitive moot teams that represent the law school on both a national and an international level. These competitive moot teams are consistently among the best in the country, bringing home both national and international honours. The law school currently sends teams to the following competitions:
- Canadian Corporate/Securities Moot
- sponsored and hosted by Davies, Ward, Phillips & Vineberg LLP, students participating in this competition debate issues of corporate and securities law
- Canadian Labour Arbitration Competition
- held by Mathews, Dinsdale & Clarke LLP, students prepare both management and union-side argument on a labour law issue
- Gale Cup Moot
- focusing on a constitutional-criminal law issue, this moot competition for Canadian law schools is held in Toronto each year at the Osgoode Hall Law Courts
- Laskin Moot
- covering administrative and constitutional law issues, this is a bilingual competition among Canadian law schools
- Phillip C. Jessup international Moot
- an international law moot, the winner from among the Canadian schools goes to Washington for a final round involving teams from around the world
- Wilson Moot
- named for Madam Justice Bertha Wilson, this national moot explores issues of equality and s.15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
There is also the Frank M. Callaghan Memorial Moot, a competition pitting mooters from the Faculty of Law against one another. This moot provides 16 students an opportunity to moot on a topic in the area of criminal or constitutional law. Judges from the Ontario Court (General Division), as well as some from the Court of Appeal, are extensively involved in this moot.
Moot Court Committee
The 2007-08 Moot Court Committee is made up of the following students:
Co-Chief Justices of the Moot Court Committee
Nick Shkordoff
Jane Stewart
Grand Moot Associate Justice
Kate Sangster-Poole
(Jane Stewart as Chief-Justice representative)
Competitive Moot Program
Nick Shkordoff as Chief-Justice representative
Upper year moot program Associate Justice:
Stephanie Couzin
First year program Associate Justices
Mark Graham & Mabel Lai
Callaghan Co-Chief Justices
TBA
Mooting Resources
The Bora Laskin Law Library has prepared a mooting module as part of its online legal research and writing tutorial: http://www.law-lib2.utoronto.ca/tutorial/4-spec/4g.htm (e.legal password required)
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