Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition sponsored by BARBRI

National Moot Court Director
Cara Sherman
The Pennsylvania State University-Dickinson School of Law
mootcourt@nblsa.org

Greetings fellow NBLSA members,

It is with great honor and pleasure I write to you as your 2012-2013 National Director of the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition (FDMCC) sponsored by BARBRI.

One of the cornerstones of NBLSA programming is the FDMCC sponsored by BARBRI. Since its inception in 1975, the FDMCC sponsored by BARBRI has consistently provided NBLSA members with excellent training in appellate advocacy through oral argument and brief writing. The FDMCC sponsored by BARBRI seeks to provide NBLSA members the opportunity to hone their appellate advocacy skills in an atmosphere of zealous competition and spirited camaraderie. Each year, between 100 and 125 teams compete across the nation within the six Regional Competitions, culminating in the top three teams from each region competing at the national level during NBLSA's Annual Convention. The competition provides competitors with the opportunity to argue issues that are at the forefront of debate in the legal profession and this year will prove to be no different. This year marks the 38th anniversary of this competition and the theme for this year will be "Living the Dream: Developing Excellence in Advocacy and Fostering Progress in Society."

Competition Improvements

Keeping with NBLSA's commitment of service to its members, the FDMCC sponsored by BARBRI Planning Board has implemented exciting new changes to the Competition. In an effort to create a more effective forum for the cultivation of superior written and oral advocacy skills, the following changes have been made to improve logistics for this year's competition.

1. The FDMCC sponsored by BARBRI rules will be amended to implement a third place round on the regional level to ensure that the best advocates advance to the National Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition sponsored by BARBRI.

2. The administration of the FDMCC sponsored by BARBRI Problem will be returned to the Westlaw TWEN site to facilitate easier communication between competitors and the FDMCC sponsored by BARBRI Planning Board during the writing stage of the competition.