MSU’s National Moot Court Competition Sets Records

By Chuck Carlson

The MSU College of Law Moot Court Team of, from left, Kennedy Potts, coach David Sheaffer, Elizabeth Sachs and Austin Beaudet, reached the semifinals of the National Moot Court Competition held Jan. 30-Feb. 2 in New York City. It was the school’s best finish in at least 20 years.

For Kennedy Potts, ‘23, being a member of the Michigan State University College of Law Moot Court team has not only taught her a lot about the law, it has taught her a lot about herself.

“It gave me a ton of confidence that I didn’t have before,” she said.

And, perhaps, that’s the goal for every burgeoning lawyer who takes part in Moot Court competitions.

It certainly has been the case for the MSU College of Law team of Elizabeth Sachs, ‘23, Austin Beaudet, ‘23 and Potts, who in early February posted the best finish for the school in at least the last 20 years in the prestigious 73rd annual National Moot Court Competition, co-sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers,

The national rounds of the event, held Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 in New York City, featured 26 of the top law schools in the nation, which survived earlier regional rounds that at one time included 189 schools.

The Michigan State team, coached by adjunct law professor David Sheaffer, was undefeated in regional rounds held in Cleveland, Ohio, last November.

The students advanced to the national rounds, where they defeated teams from Florida International University and the South Texas College of Law in the preliminary rounds of the national competition.

They then went on to defeat Seton Hall University and the University of California-Berkeley to reach the semifinals when they were stopped by eventual champion Mercer University.

“To my knowledge it’s the best finish we’ve had at MSU Law in decades,” Sheaffer said. “We’ve made it to nationals a couple of times, at least in recent memory, but we never advanced past the preliminary rounds.”

Moot Court competitions are one of several opportunities for law students as they test their skills in logic, law, research and arguing cases.

Not unlike a coach for an athletic team, MSU Professor Jennifer Copland, director of the Law College Competitions Program, watches first-year law students in oral advocacy rounds and evaluates student records to see who might fit into the Moot Court program in their second and third years.

In an average year, 36-40 students are selected for participation in the fall Moot Court preparatory class, after which most go on to compete on Moot Court competition events around the country. Teams are scored by judges and assessed both on writing skills and oral advocacy performance.

“Judges grill them, test them and try to trick them,” Copland said. “It’s great training for any lawyer, and we have an incredible program with a lot of opportunities for students who want to develop these skills.”

The presentation is graded and given scores and, also as in athletic competition, the best score wins.

“They learn a lot,” said Sheaffer, an MCU law school grad who competed in Moot Court as a student and has been coaching and assisting with the fall Moot Court prerequisite class since he graduated in 2017. “The biggest benefit for them is that it’s a huge confidence builder. We have students who come in not knowing if they can even talk in front of people. But they learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. They gain confidence knowing they can get through this.”

So it was for Potts, a Muskegon native who earned her undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University before coming to the MSU College of Law.

“This was a new experience for me,” said Potts, who is interested in criminal public defense law upon graduation. “This was like a whole new thing because you add a competitive edge to it – which I live for.”

And the success MSU had in the most recent event is just “icing on top of the cake,” she said.

“For me, it’s just that recognition and seeing something tangible from all the hard work we put in. Reaching the final four was something new and kind of cool.”

The College of Law has scored success in other events as well this school year.

• In January, Katrin Kelley, ‘24, took home an award and monetary prize for finishing as the second place oralist at Houston Law’s National Moot Court Championship competition, which was an invitational-only competition offered to the top 16 national programs, based on results from the prior year.
• In November, the team of Jennifer Anton, ‘23, and Destiny Sykes, ‘23, took first place at the Burton D. Wechsler National First Amendment Moot Court in Washington, D.C.
• In October, Danica Bebble, ‘23, Mackenzie Kohler, ‘23, and Tom DeLano, ‘23, finished in the top 10 in the Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition in Constitutional Law in Greensboro, N.C.
• In August, Olivia Kurajian, ‘23, Jack Chaben, ‘23, and DeLano took second place for a brief at the virtual E. Earle Zehmer National Moot Court Competition in Workers’ Compensation Law.