Advocacy at Newark

The Newark campus’s intramural mock trial competition provides an opportunity for students to develop trial advocacy skills and use them in a realistic trial setting. Students conduct full trials of a criminal or civil case. The competition is judged by judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and the New Jersey Superior Court, as well as prominent members of the trial bar. Prior to the competition, students may participate in a series of trial skills training workshops to develop skills needed for the competition. The competition is open to all students.

This intramural appellate moot court competition is open to all students. Students have the opportunity to develop appellate advocacy skills and use them in a realistic appellate setting. Students conduct appellate arguments before a panel of judges on a current U.S. Supreme Court issue. They also draft and submit a U.S. Supreme Court brief. The competition is judged by New Jersey judges, including justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court and judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and the New Jersey Superior Court. Prior to the competition, students may participate in a series of appellate advocacy skills training workshops to develop skills needed for the competition.

This extraordinary intramural appellate moot court competition is named after Third Circuit Judge Leonard I. Garth. The competition provides students with extraordinary appellate skills by conducting mock U.S. Supreme Court appellate arguments before a panel of distinguished United States Supreme Court or Appellate Judges. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., a former Garth clerk, has judged at the competition.

The ADR Competition is the Newark campus’s intramural ADR competition. It helps students develop ADR advocacy skills and use them in a realistic negotiation, mediation, or arbitration setting. Students engage in a mock negotiation, mediation, or arbitration session in a civil case. The competition is judged by prominent members of the New Jersey ADR bar. The competition is open to all students.

The C. Willard Heckel Inn of Court was founded in 1990 to further civility and excellence in the practice of law in New Jersey in both the state and federal courts. The Inn's core focus is on criminal and related civil practice in both the federal and state court systems, although many of its programs involve issues of broader appeal to the bar. The Inn brings together highly experienced and distinguished justices, judges, trial attorneys, members of the bar, and Rutgers Law School students to enhance their skills and focus on emerging and important issues facing the bar and bench. Sponsored by Rutgers Law School, the Inn holds its meetings and programs at the law school in Newark. Student members of the Inn are nominated by faculty members. 

The Rutgers Moot Court Board is a student-run organization dedicated to promoting superior trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution skills. The Board runs workshops, lectures, networking events, and other programming related to trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution—including mediation, arbitration, and negotiation. Members of the Board are selected through a competitive process, but Board workshops and lectures are open to all students.