Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law continues to earn national recognition for the strength of its trial advocacy program, securing a Top 40 ranking in the latest release from U.S. News & World Report (2026). Through Moot Court, you’ll refine your oral advocacy, trial and brief writing skills and gain real world experience so you graduate with the skills you need to be a highly successful attorney.
Your competition experience begins right here on campus where we feature four competitions annually. Our alumni give generously of their time and money, endowing competitions, underwriting scholarships and judging. It’s the ONU Law way.
Named in honor of a former dean of ONU Law, this competition is part of the first-year Legal Research and Writing course. Each first-year ONU law student is required to participate in this oral advocacy competition; however, only those selected to move on may continue to compete.
One of two annual appellate advocacy competitions at ONU Law, this is the only one available to upperclassman advocates. The competition invites all second- and third-year ONU law students to compete for awards and cash prizes by displaying their advocacy skills. The competition is sponsored by the family of the Honorable Anthony J. Celebrezze, former mayor of Cleveland; Secretary of Health, Education and Wellness under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson; and Circuit Justice of the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The winning student receives $500, runner up $250, and third and fourth finishers receive $125 each.
Teams of two law students practice and develop their trial advocacy skills while competing for cash prizes in a courtroom environment. Open to second- and third-year students, this competition is historically sponsored by the Honorable Burke E. Smith, and introduces students to the complexity, challenges and opportunities found during trial.
Open to all ONU Law students, this competition gives students a chance to showcase their oral advocacy skills through presentation of a closing argument in a complex criminal case. Parag Shah, a distinguished graduate of ONU Law, is a personal injury lawyer and criminal defense attorney in Atlanta, where he is the founding partner of the Shaw Law Firm.
ONU Law students who excel in our intra-school competitions are invited to participate in teams that compete in regional and national competitions against top-notch law students from across the country.
This national competition is sponsored by the American Bar Association and focuses on a different area of law every year. ONU competes regionally against other schools for an opportunity to advance to the Nationals. The regional competition consists of three qualifying rounds with each team arguing at least once on behalf of the respondent and once on behalf of the petitioner. The regional competitions take place in cities like St. Louis, Boston or Washington D.C. and feature between 36 to 42 schools. The top 16 teams advance to the semi-final round, with the winners advancing to the final round. The winning four teams advance to nationals. In the recent past, ONU won the Washington D.C. regional for the first time in the school’s history, and made it to the Boston Regional semi-finals, winning an award for best advocate and award for third-best brief.
This competition is held annually at Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, N.J. The competition hosts 40 teams from around the country over the course of two days, with issues generally focused on timely matters of criminal procedure and/or criminal law. Competitors are called on to argue on constitutionality and interpretation of federal and state criminal statutes as well as general doctrinal issues of federal and state criminal law. ONU Law traditionally enjoys remarkable success at this competition, often placing in the sweet 16 and bringing home multiple honors.
This competition is internationally known and is the only one that enjoys participation by nearly every law school in the United States and abroad. In fact, it enjoys recognition as the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from more than 550 law schools in more than 80 countries. The arguments are presented as if before the International Court of Justice, the judicial structure of the United Nations (as opposed to a court of the United States). Additionally, the problem is written by a leading scholar on a topic of timely and global significance. For the past few years, our teams have been highly competitive in this competition. We traditionally participate in the Chicago competition.
This annual competition is designed to further careers in public service by matching law school teams with public service litigators, who serve as their coaches. Law schools from across Ohio field teams to present on each side of a case in two separate rounds. Federal and state judges as well as experienced litigators judge the competition.
Sixteen teams from all over the nation are assigned to one of 14 regional competitions. The top team from each region then advances to the national finals. The STAC problems are always civil cases and tend to deal with issues such as product liability, personal injury or medical malpractice/negligence issues. Teams are judged on their skills in case preparation, opening statements, use of facts, the examination of lay and expert witnesses, and closing arguments. The AAJ team is the only trial-level moot court competition team at ONU.
This competition encourages and strengthens advocacy skills and provides a meaningful experience for future trial lawyers. Over 140 law schools and more than 1,000 law students compete each year.
When you graduate, you are practice ready!
• Ranked No. 1 in Ohio and No. 24 in the country for trial advocacy.
• Top-notch litigators coach our students to compete and win in mock trial.
• Recognized for having some of the nation’s Most Competitive Students.