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List of National Trial Advocacy Competitions

This page endeavors to collect links to various trial advocacy competitions sponsored by law schools in the United States.  If your competition is not listed, or if the link to your competition is outdated, please contact Professor Jeff Brooks at jeffbrooks@lsu.edu and we will be more than happy to update the list. (Competitions are listed in alphabetical order.)  Please also visit our lists of moot court (appellate advocacy) and dispute resolution and transactional competitions.

  • Academy of Trial Lawyers Mock Trial Competition
    • Civil trial competition.  Invitational competition (10 schools from the East Coast and Midwest), sponsored by the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, in Pittsburgh, PA.
  • AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition
    • Civil trial competition.  Open registration for all ABA-accredited law schools, sponsored by the American Association of Justice.  Has both regional and national rounds.
  • ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law Student Trial Advocacy Competition
    • Civil trial competition, with a focus on labor and employment.  Open registration for all ABA-accredited law schools.  Has both regional and national rounds.
  • Buffalo-Niagara Mock Trial Competition
    • Criminal trial competition.  Invitational competition (40 schools), sponsored by SUNY Buffalo Law School, in Buffalo, NY.
  • Capitol City Challenge
    • Criminal trial competition, with a focus on courtroom technology.  Invitational competition, sponsored by American University Washington College of Law, in Washington, DC.
  • Estrella Trial Advocacy Competition
    • Civil trial competition.  Invitational competition (14 schools), sponsored by law firm of Estrella, LLC and The George Washington University Law School, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  • Florida National Trial Advocacy Tournament
    • Criminal trial competition.  Invitational competition (14 schools), sponsored by The University of Florida Levin College of Law, in Gainesville, FL.
  • Henry L. Lackey Trial Advocacy Competition
    • Criminal trial competition. Invitational competition (1 team guaranteed for each law school, currently), sponsored by the University of Mississippi School of Law Trial Advocacy Board in Oxford, MS.
  • In Vino Veritas (GGU-BLS Mock Trial Competition)
    • Federal criminal trial competition.  Invitational competition (16 schools), sponsored by Golden Gate University School of Law and the ABA Section of Litigation, in San Francisco, CA.
  • John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition
    • Criminal trial competition, team represents only one side of the case in all rounds.  Open registration for all ABA-accredited law schools, sponsored by George Mason University School of Law, in Fairfax, VA. The competition will accept up to 24 teams, each team consists of 2 students.
  • Judge Paul Joseph Kelly, Jr. Invitational Trial Competition
    • Criminal trial competition.  Invitational competition (16 schools), sponsored by Fordham University School of Law, in New York, NY.
  • Lone Star Classic
    • Criminal trial competition.  Invitational competition (16 schools), sponsored by St. Mary’s University School of Law, in San Antonio, TX.
  • Mockingbird Challenge
    • Invitational tournment with 18-20 schools. Hosted by Faulkner Law in Montgomery, Alabama
  • National Animal Law Closing Argument Competition
    • Open registration to all ABA-accredited law schools, sponsored by the Center for Animal Law Studies in collaboration with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, in Cambridge, MA. (Currently “on hiatus.”)
  • NBLSA Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition
    • Criminal trial competition.  Open registration to all ABA-accredited law schools, sponsored by the National Black Law Students Association.  Regional and national rounds.
  • National Civil Trial Competition
    • Invitational competition, sponsored by Loyola Law School Los Angeles, in Los Angeles, CA.
  • National Criminal Justice Trial Competition
    • Invitational competition, sponsored by the the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association and The John Marshall Law School, in Chicago, IL.
  • National Ethics Trial Competition
    • Trial competition focused on professional responsibility and attorney ethics.  Invitational competition (18 schools), sponsored by the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, in Sacramento, CA
  • National Medical-Legal Trial Competition
    • Civil trial competition, featuring medical students as expert witnesses. Invitational competition (10 schools), sponsored by Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, in conjunction with the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
  • National Mock Trial Competition
    • Civil trial competition.  Invitational competition (10 schools), sponsored by Florida State University College of Law, in Tallahassee, FL.
  • National Pretrial Competition
    • Civil trial competition focusing on pre-trial/evidentiary issues, with brief-writing, oral argument, and evidentiary hearing components.  Invitational competition (16 schools), sponsored by Stetson University College of Law, in Gulfport, FL.
  • National Trial Advocacy Competition
    • Invitational competition, sponsored by Michigan State Bar Association.
  • National Trial Competition
    • Competition alternates between civil and criminal trials, sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Texas Young Lawyers Association.  Open registration for all ABA-accredited law schools.  Has both regional and national rounds.
  • NBTA Tournament of Champions
    • Invitational competition (16 schools, based on competition performance at TYLA NTC and AAJ STAC), sponsored by the National Board of Trial Advocates.
  • Peter James Johnson National Civil Rights Trial Competition
    • Civil trial competition, with a focus on civil rights litigation.  Invitational competition (16 schools), sponsored by St. John’s University School of Law, in New York, NY.
  • Phi Alpha Delta Law School Chapter Mock Trial Competition
    • Civil trial competition.  Open registration, but all competitors must be initiated members of the Phi Alpha Delta law school fraternity.  Sponsored by Phi Alpha Delta, in Alexandria, VA.
  • Puerto Rico Trial Advocacy Competition
    • Criminal trial competition.  Invitational competition (12 schools), sponsored by the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law, the Puerto Rico Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Federal District Court for Puerto Rico and the Federal Bankruptcy Court for Puerto Rico.  Held in San Juan, PR.
  • Queens County District Attorney Trial Competition
    • Criminal Trial Competition. Open Application (14 law schools). Rounds are presided over by sitting criminal judges and scored by senior trial prosecutors. Held in the Fall in Kew Gardens, New York.
  • Show Me Challenge
    • Voir Dire/Jury Selection competition.  Open registration (first-come, first-served, 16 schools), sponsored by University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, in Kansas City, MO.
  • South Texas Mock Trial Challenge
    • Civil trial competition, with pre-trial brief component.  Open registration for all ABA-accredited law schools, sponsored by South Texas College of Law, in Houston, TX.
  • Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition
    • Invitational competition open only to the best advocates from 16 law schools.  Sponsored by Baylor Law School, in Waco, TX.
  • White Collar Crime Invitational
    • Invitational competition (20 schools), sponsored by Georgetown University Law Center, in Washington, DC.
  • William W. Daniel National Mock Trial Competition
    • Criminal trial competition.  Invitational competition (16 schools) sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division, in Atlanta, GA.