The Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Domestic Competition was established in honor of Richard Baskerville, a 1959 University of Iowa College of Law graduate, and Martin Van Oosterhout, a 1924 University of Iowa College of Law graduate and former Chief Justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Participation in the competition is restricted to the top 32 advocates of AAI who express a desire to compete in a domestic law competition.

This competition is designed to sharpen the skills of the student advocate. Each advocate will write 14 pages for his or her portion of the brief and will participate in four oral arguments. Advocates argue not only the issue and side on which they write their briefs, but also the other three sides of the problem. That is, advocates argue four rounds, a different side each round: on-issue/on-brief, on-issue/off-brief, off-issue/on-brief, and off-issue/off-brief. The top four scorers in the initial rounds will be selected to argue in a final round before a respected panel of jurists.

The top six advocates of the competition will form the National Moot Court Team in the fall semester of the following academic year. In addition, four advocates will have the opportunity to perform oral arguments before the Iowa Supreme Court during the College of Law’s annual Iowa Supreme Court Day during the fall semester. Advocates who place seventh through twelfth in the competition are invited to participate on the Advanced Moot Court Competition Team, commonly referred to as the “Baskerville Team.”

The spring intramural Jessup Competition is modeled after the International Law Students Association Jessup International Competition to prepare students for participation on the International Jessup team (if they so desire and are chosen) the following year. Working in pairs, each student writes approximately 12 pages advocating his/her position. Oral arguments consist of an approximately 15-minute presentation before a bench. The competition gives students the opportunity to develop and improve their memorial (brief) writing skills, gain experience in oral advocacy, learn about the substance and procedure of international law, and discover how the International Court of Justice operates. The Jessup problem features current and exciting issues of international law. The top five students with the highest combined memorial and oral argument scores from the intramural Jessup Competition will comprise the College’s International Jessup Team for the following academic year. The Best Advocate (scoring the highest combined memorial and oral argument score) from the Jessup Competition receives the honor of serving as captain of the Jessup International Team the following academic year. The prestigious Jessup International Moot Court Competition is held in memory of the late Judge Phillip C. Jessup, an American judge who sat on the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The International Jessup Competition provides students with an incomparable opportunity to compete not only with teams from more than 100 American law schools, but also with teams from Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and South America. It is directed and administered by the American Society of International Law through the International Law Students Association (ILSA). Please see http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/ for more information.

The Moot Court Board consists of approximately 16 student judges (depending on class size) and an executive board consisting of approximately seven members. The Moot Court Board operates under the guidance of a faculty advisor. All advocates successfully completing AAI and any spring appellate advocacy program (i.e., Domestic or Jessup Competition) are eligible for election to the Moot Court Executive Board (i.e., including position of: chairperson, vice-chair positions, domestic competition coordinator, AAI coordinator, Supreme Court Day coordinator and Jessup coordinator). Students who have successfully completed AAI are eligible to become student judges. Student judges are responsible for advising student advocates on their brief writing and oral argument preparation in AAI and the Spring Semester Competitions. Student judges also judge and score student advocates’ oral arguments and briefs in these programs. Selection to all positions is made by the current Moot Court Executive Board based on the student’s participation in Moot Court programs, personal interviews, and an editing sample.

Open to six finalists from Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Domestic Competition. Students participate as the law school’s representatives in the Regional Moot Court Competition in the fall of their third year. Prerequisites: 91:210 Appellate Advocacy I and 91:404 Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Competition.

In the fall of each year, the College hosts the Iowa Supreme Court on the University of Iowa campus. Oral arguments in a moot case are presented to the Supreme Court by third-year students in the Levitt Auditorium, an event that is open to the public.

The evening following the event, a number of faculty members host receptions at their homes for the justices, attorneys, and students. These receptions provide an opportunity to visit informally with members of the court, and all students should plan to attend. Students also are welcome to help organize and plan the day's activities in conjunction with the Iowa Student Bar Association.

The top competitors from the Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Domestic Competition are invited to participate as the law school’s representatives at a regional moot court competition in either the fall or spring of their third year.

The location and subject matter of the competition can vary annually, but in the past students have participated in the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition (Minneapolis) and Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition.

Prerequisites include: 91:210 Appellate Advocacy I and 91:404 Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Competition.

The Stephenson Trial Advocacy Competition is a competitive version of the full trials that complete the semester and intersession trial advocacy courses. The competition, which began in 1984, is named after Judge Roy L. Stephenson, an esteemed judge of the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and a 1940 graduate of the UI College of Law.

A fund to provide for this competition was established by Judge Stephenson's former law clerks. A limited number of law students who have demonstrated superior ability in advocacy during the trial advocacy courses participate in a week-long series of mock trials judged by local members of the bench and bar. The final round of competition is judged by federal judges and Iowa Supreme Court justices.

The competition, which takes place in October, culminates in a banquet where awards are presented to the winning participants and to the best litigator. Individuals selected from the competition represent Iowa at national trial competitions in the spring.

The National College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition closely simulates the formal hearing process utilized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Committee on Infractions (COl) to adjudicate allegations of major rules violations. Entering its second year, the competition is co-hosted (fully online with no travel required) by The University of lowa’s College of Law and the Sport and Recreation Management program in lowa’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

lowa's unique competition offers students in law and/or other graduate school disciplines an opportunity to gain insights into the NCAA's regulations and their practical application within this quasi-legal context. Moreover, participants will engage in a nationwide competition, presenting their skills before judges with expertise in sports law, college athletics, and compliance. Finally, students will receive judge feedback and network with judges to support professional development.

During the competition, students will work on teams to develop and sharpen their oral and written advocacy skills through an athletic lens by taking turns advocating as NCAA enforcement staff and as defense counsel for a school accused of committing NCAA infractions.

Major league baseball salary arbitration process that sports agents, attorneys, and team executives participate in, presided over by panels of lawyer arbitrators; students develop written and oral advocacy skills while participating in mock salary arbitration hearings; three students are chosen to represent the UI College of Law at the Tulane University Law School International Baseball Arbitration Competition in mid-January.

An opportunity to engage in moot court proceedings focused on environmental law issues. 

An annual international moot competition concerning international commercial arbitration under the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

Under close supervision of instructor, students prepare two briefs, one for the claimant and one for the respondent, are mooted repeatedly by instructor and practicing attorneys (often alumni of the competition), and then participate in multiple rounds of moot court competition in the United States and, ultimately, either Hong Kong or Vienna.