The inaugural First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition culminated on February 5, 2009, in conjunction with the ABA Forum’s 14th Annual Conference on Communications Law, held in Scottsdale, Arizona.  The final round, featuring student competitors from Yale Law School and Southwestern Law School, was judged by the distinguished panel of Judge Peter B. Swann of the Arizona Court of Appeals;  Justice Andrew D. Hurwitz of the Arizona Supreme Court; and Judge Pierre N. Leval of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (appearing left to right, in center of photo above). (More information about the 2009 Competition, including photos, can be found here.)

The Competition is designed primarily to introduce minority law students to the practice of media law and to many of the lawyers who are active in the media law bar.  It also offers a unique opportunity for law students to apply their writing and advocacy skills to cutting edge legal issues that are directly relevant to the development of communications law in the United States.

THE 2010 COMPETITION

Planning for the 2010 Competition is underway. Regional preliminary rounds of this year’s Competition are scheduled to take place in January 2010, in 4 regions of the country: Region 1: Boston, Massachusetts; Region 2: Washington, District of Columbia; Region 3: Chicago, Illinois; and Region 4: Los Angeles, California.

Each participating team will take part in a minimum of two oral arguments, at least one of which will be “off-brief.” Oral arguments will be judged by media lawyers and, when available, by sitting and retired state and federal judges.

Please click this link for a list of schools that have been invited to field a team to participate in the Competition. Note that registration in a given region may close once four teams in that region have committed to participate.

The winning team for each region will advance to the National Competition in Key Largo, Florida on Thursday, January 28, 2010. The four regional winners will be awarded a four-night trip to the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo and, in addition to participating in the semi-final and final rounds of the Competition, will have an opportunity to attend the 15th Annual Conference of the ABA Forum on Communications Law, which will be held from January 28 through 30, 2010.

MOOT COURT HYPOTHETICAL

The district court opinion from which the hypothetical appeal arises is available here. Additional materials will be provided to the teams participating in the Competition.

OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES

The Official Competition Rules are available here. Teams are advised to read the Rules completely and carefully.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING

The moot court boards of 48 schools have been invited to field a team of two Juris Doctor candidates who are members of either NBLSA, NLLSA, NNALSA or NAPALSA or a minority law student organization at the school. (Additional eligibility requirements are outlined in the Official Rules.) If a moot court board declines to field a team, students at that school will have the opportunity to apply directly to the Forum to participate in the Competition (in this case, if more than one team from a school applies to compete, the team representing the school will be selected at random).

If you are interested in competing, we encourage you to contact your school’s moot court board and express that interest.

To register or apply to compete, please submit a Registration Form by October 9, 2009. Students who apply directly to the Forum to participate in the Competition and who are not members of NBLSA, NLLSA, NNALSA or NAPALSA must also submit a Sponsorship Form. Please note that participation in each region may close once 4 teams have registered to compete in that region.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Registration Deadline: October 9, 2009
• Side Designation Distributed: October 23, 2009
• Briefs Due: December 1, 2009
• Regional Competitions: January 9, 2010 or January 16, 2010
• Semi-Finals and Finals: January 28, 2010

COMPETITION ADMINISTRATION AND SPONSORS

The First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition is administered by the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law. The Competition Committee, which is comprised of media lawyers, in-house counsel at national media companies, and tenured and visiting law school faculty, will oversee the administration of the Competition at both the regional and national levels.

The following law firms were generous supporters of the 2009 Competition:

• Brown Rudnick
• Davis Wright Tremaine
• Frost, Brown, Todd
• Holland & Knight
• Jackson Walker
• Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz
• Mandell Menkes
• Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
• Vinson & Elkins

The following student organizations are co-sponsors of the Competition:

• National Black Law Students Association
• National Latino/a Law Student Association
• National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association
• National Native American Law Students Association

ABOUT THE FORUM

The more than 2,500 members of the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law regularly represent media and telecommunications companies in litigation and regulatory and transactional matters, among other things. The principal objectives of the Forum are: (1) to encourage discussion of issues relating to the legal counseling and representation of the print media, the telecommunications industry, and the electronic media; (2) to support and promote research, forums and publications focusing on communications and media law; and (3) to keep abreast of developments in communications and media law. In addition, the Forum understands and appreciates the value of a diverse legal profession. It is committed to diversifying its membership and to participating in activities and programs that expand opportunities for minority students and attorneys to become active members of the legal profession and the media bar in particular. The Competition is designed in part to facilitate these objectives.

Contact the Competition Committee – Email: JBead@lskslaw.com