Mooting programs

The UNB Faculty of Law mooting programs allow students to develop their written and oral advocacy skills and argue cases in front of practising judges and lawyers.

First year moot

Each first year student participates in a moot court as part of the Fundamentals of Advocacy course. Moots involve four students, two representing the appellant and two representing the respondent. Students choose their own partners but a random draw determines which teams will moot against each other. Teams submit a written factum and book of the legal authorities on which they are relying preparatory to the oral presentations. Each moot is judged by a bench of three individuals, usually a practitioner, a law professor and a third year law student.

Upper year moots

UNB participates in several national and international competitive moots. There is also an in-house, upper year moot. Students apply to participate in these moots in the spring. The faculty advisors meet towards the beginning of July of each year and, equipped with the student's G.P.A., ranking, year in law school and moot mark, select representatives for the team for which they are responsible. The selection process is similar to a professional sports draft where each team selects one member in rotation until each team's complement has been satisfied. Traditionally, academic standing has been the predominant criterion for competitive moot selection. Information on the competitive moot application process will be posted in the spring. Students are reminded to take note of the strict application deadline.

The William Henry Harrison Moot Court Competition

The school's most prestigious in-house moot was established to commemorate the legal and military career of William Henry Harrison, former dean of the Law School and judge of the New Brunswick Supreme Court.  This moot is the Faculty's senior moot competition, limited to third year students.

Trilateral Moot

The Trilateral Moot involves competition with the University of Maine and Dalhousie University.

Gale Cup Moot

This national moot involves a criminal law issue recently decided by the Supreme Court of Canada. The moot is sponsored by the Ontario Bar Association and is held at the Osgoode Hall courthouse in downtown Toronto.

Laskin Memorial Moot

This is a national administrative law moot, in which at least one UNB representative moots in French.

Jessup Moot

This is the leading international law moot. The Canadian Round is part of a US-based competition typically involving teams from 50 - 70 states. Canadian winners enter an international finals competition in Washington, DC. 

McKelvey/Sopinka Cup Moot

The Sopinka Cup Moot is a trial moot sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mooters examine and cross-examine witnesses and deliver opening and closing addresses to a jury of evaluators made up of judges and lawyers. UNB competes against University of Moncton and Dalhousie University for the McKelvey Cup (named in honour of E. Neil McKelvey, Q.C. of the law firm Stewart McKelvey.) The winner of the regional competition travels to Ottawa to compete nationally for the Sopinka Cup.

The Faculty of Law would like to thank McInnes Cooper for their continued support of the Mooting Program.