Upper Year Moots for Current Students

The Adam F. Fanaki Competition Law Moot is a competition which began in 2018 and is co-hosted by the Competition Bureau, Competition Tribunal and Canadian Bar Association. This moot provides law students with an exceptional opportunity to tackle timely, complex, civil or criminal issues in a growing field of law that strives to balance private economic incentives with the public interest. Participants will have the opportunity to obtain feedback from top law enforcers, judges and specialist practitioners in an intimate setting.

The Allard Law team consists of four students in two teams to represent each of the appellant and respondent. Each school will submit both an appellant and respondent factum during the written phase and make oral submissions during the competition.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 464.001 Competition Policy is recommended but not required.

Advisor/Coaches: The coach for the 2021-2022 moot was Francois Tougas.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

Sponsors: The Allard Law team is generously sponsored by McMillan LLP.

This moot is a competition between teams from the law faculties of the University of British Columbia, University of Victoria and Thompson Rivers University. The moot problem is an appeal from a trial or appellate court decision in the area of torts, contracts or property law. Students are given an opportunity to discuss their factums with experienced counsel. A series of practice moots is held to assist the students in the preparation of their oral submissions. The winning school is determined on the basis of total marks awarded for the advocacy performance of all four mooters and the marks for each factum. 

The moot problem is mooted in two divisions. Allard Law’s team consists of two divisions of two students each, plus a researcher or alternate. In one division, students represent the appellant; in the other, the respondent. Counsel for each division prepares a factum and presents oral argument to a panel consisting of three judges drawn from the Superior Courts of British Columbia. The researcher/alternate assists in research and administration and may be called upon to argue the case (on either side) if one of the counsel is unable to appear. In preparation for the moot, counsel for the two divisions and the researcher operate very much as a team.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: None.

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors / coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Assistant Professor Samuel Beswick, Todd Shizake, Stephanie Ovens and Gabriel Rincon.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Assistant Professor Samuel Beswick at beswick@allard.ubc.ca. 

Sponsors: This moot is generously sponsored by the Allard School of Law and the Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia. The post-reception and binding of materials is generously sponsored by DLA Piper (Canada) LLP.

This national competition focuses upon corporate and securities law. The competition, usually held in Toronto, gives law students interested in these areas an opportunity to meet, formally and informally, with judges, corporate and securities regulators, academics and practitioners to debate legal issues of current importance to the Canadian business community.

The Allard Law team consists of four to five students, the fifth being a researcher/alternate. The team has the opportunity to practice extensively before judges, faculty and practitioners. The unique feature of this competition is that each pair of students takes turns arguing on behalf of both the appellant and the respondent. The emphasis of the competition is on oral presentation, but points are also awarded for the factum. The judges hearing the moots are drawn from the Ontario Courts and the Ontario Securities Commission, senior practitioners and, on occasion, the Supreme Court of Canada.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 459 Business Organizations, LAW 463 Securities Regulation. 

Advisors/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Assistant Professor Maziar Peihani, Sean Boyle, and Michelle Perini.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Assistant Professor Maziar Peihani at peihani@allard.ubc.ca. 

Sponsors: This moot is generously sponsored by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

The Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot is Canada’s first competitive moot on taxation and is administered by a committee of judges and practitioners. This moot is named in honour of former Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada, Donald G.H. Bowman, and is sponsored by Dentons LLP. The Donald G. H. Bowman National Tax Moot is designed to promote advocacy and excellence in the fields of tax law and policy, and to provide participants with the opportunity to interact with jurists of the Federal Courts and with experienced practitioners.

The moot is an appellate level moot with two students representing the appellant and two students representing the respondent. Each team will prepare a written factum and present oral arguments during the competition. During the competition, students compete over two days in two preliminary rounds, semi-finals and the final moot before a panel of three judges.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 407.001 Taxation. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023 – 2024 moot are Robert Carvalho and Vivian Esper. If you have additional questions about the program, please email Robert Carvalho at rcarvalho@thor.ca or Vivian Esper at vmesper@thor.ca 

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

Sponsors: The Allard Law team is generously sponsored by the Vancouver office of Thorsteinssons LLP.

The Gale Cup Moot concerns a criminal law topic, often one involving the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is usually held in Toronto at the Osgoode Hall Law Courts (the Ontario Court of Appeal). Marks are awarded for both the factum and oral presentation, with the latter given more weight. The moot is an appeal from a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada rather than a hypothetical problem. The judges for the competition are drawn from the courts of all jurisdictions across Canada, and final rounds are argued before at least one Supreme Court of Canada justice and other senior appellate level judges.

The Allard Law team generally has four students. The Gale Cup Moot is a truly national moot which attracts a large number of teams from across the country. Schools may moot in either English or French, with simultaneous translation provided.  In some years, winners advance to an international competition that takes place in a Commonwealth country. 

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 476 Evidence, LAW 400.001 Advanced Criminal Procedure. 

Advisors/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Professor Janine Benedet and Professor Isabel Grant.

Application: 2023-2024 Application Fact Sheet

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Professor Isabel Grant at grant@allard.ubc.ca.

Sponsors: The Gale Cup Moot is generously sponsored by the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia.

Not offered in 2024-25.

The Harold G. Fox Moot is intended to promote the furtherance of education in the intellectual property field, and to provide participants with the opportunity to interact with jurists of the Supreme, Ontario, and Federal Courts and experienced practitioners of intellectual property law. It is named in honour of the late Harold G. Fox, one of Canada’s leading intellectual property scholars and advocates. The Harold G. Fox Moot is administered by a committee of judges and practitioners. 

The Allard Law team, consisting of four students – two students paired together as the appellant team and two students as the respondent team – meets one to two times a week at both the Oyen Wiggs offices and at Allard Hall. Students will prepare a written factum and oral submissions.  The Competition will involve at least two general levels of oral arguments: a preliminary round and a final round. There may be a semi-final round.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 422.001 Intellectual Property. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisor for the 2020-2021 moot was Associate Professor Reynolds.

Application: N/A 

Sponsors: The Harold G. Fox Moot is generously sponsored by DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. The Allard Law team is generously funded by Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala.

Not offered in 2025-25.

The Ian Fletcher International Insolvency Moot is a global moot that tests students’ knowledge and skills in cross-border insolvency law, which is the financial distress of companies. The Allard Law team consists of four students. 

Each team will prepare one set of written submissions on behalf of the appellant and one set of written submissions on behalf of the respondent. If selected as a finalist, each team will submit an outline of oral arguments and participate in a preliminary round in which they will participate in two moots: arguing in one for the appellant and in the other for the respondent. Winning teams will advance to the quarter-final or semi-final rounds, depending on number of competing teams.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: Law 444.001 Insolvency Law. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisor for the 2020-2021 moot was Professor Emeritus Janis Sarra.

Application: N/A 

Sponsors: The Allard Law team is generously sponsored by the ARIL conference. 

Not offered in 2024-25.

The Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law Moot is a Canada’s first moot on immigration, refugee, and citizenship law. It is a national bilingual competition established by the Federal Court of Canada. The moot provides a unique opportunity for law students, judges, decision-makers, academics, and practitioners from the public and private sectors to meet and debate problems of current importance in the fields of immigration refugee and citizenship law.

The moot problem is a judicial review of an immigration / refugee law issue argued before the Federal Court or equivalent court. The Allard Law team consists of two groups of students, one representing the appellant and the other representing the respondent. Students will be evaluated on their written factums and oral submissions.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: Preference is given to students who have taken LAW 377.001 Immigration Law and/or LAW 387C Refugee Law or who are enrolled in one or both of these courses in the coming academic year.

Advisor/Coaches: The advisor for the 2020-2021 moot was Molly Joeck. 

Application: N/A 

Sponsors: N/A.

The International Law Students Association, based in Chicago, organizes an international law topic for this moot competition to address timely issues of public international law in the context of a hypothetical legal dispute between nations. The competition divides schools into a number of geographic and national units, one of which includes all Canadian law schools. Students receive advocacy training leading up to the Canadian National competition. The top three Canadian teams advance to the International Round.

Each team prepares two written memorials and two 45-minute oral presentations, one for the applicant and one for the respondent. Teams argue alternately as applicant and respondent against competing teams before a panel of judges, simulating a proceeding before the International Court of Justice.

The Allard Law team generally has four or five students, with the fifth acting as a researcher. The team usually consists of at least two third-year students.  The researcher is a second-year student, who is then given the opportunity to participate as a mooter in her or his third year.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: Law 316 International Law is recommended but not required.

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Associate Professor Karin Mickelson, Dionne Liu and Devin Eeg.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Associate Professor Karin Mickelson at mickelson@allard.ubc.ca. 

Sponsors: The Allard Law team is generously sponsored by Fasken.

The Julius Alexander Isaac Moot ("Isaac Moot") is a competitive moot usually held at the Ontario Court of Appeal. It is named after the late Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal, Julius Alexander Isaac, who was the first Black judge to sit on the Federal Court of Canada.  Since its inception in 2008, this unilingual moot has focused on an area of law in which issues of equity and diversity arise, often incorporating elements of critical race theory into the problem.  The Black Law Student Association of Canada administers the Isaac Moot in collaboration with law firms, law schools and community organizations.

The team will prepare an appellant’s factum and respondent’s factum. At the Competition, students will present oral arguments in preliminary rounds, followed by a final round between the two highest ranking teams.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: Law 363D.001 Racism & Law.

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors for the 2023-2024 moot are Associate Professor Asha Kaushal and Kyle Thompson.

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Associate Professor Asha Kaushal at kaushal@allard.ubc.ca.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

Sponsors: The Julius Alexander Isaac Moot is generously sponsored by Allard Law and Lenczner Slaght.

The Kawaskimhon ("Speaking with Knowledge") Aboriginal Rights Moot is a forum wherein issues regarding Aboriginal rights are debated by aboriginal and non-aboriginal students from across Canada.  Kawaskimhon is a great opportunity for students to speak to issues of aboriginal rights and is an integral part of the Indigenous Legal Studies at Allard Law. Previous moots have addressed such issues as band membership rights, territorial overlaps, the effects of hydro projects, Métis rights and aboriginal heritage.  Students are assessed a pass/fail mark based on their research, written factums and oral presentations at Kawaskimhon.

A different law school hosts Kawaskimhon each year.  Participants include students from most Canadian law schools (in teams of 2 to 4 students) and facilitators (faculty advisors, community members, elders) from across the country. The moot involves preparing a factum over the course of six to eight weeks and oral submissions.  On the first day of the Moot, participants present oral arguments based on submitted written factums.  At the end of the first day, the host law school prepares a cultural night (which usually includes a banquet, singers and dancers, and etc.). Kawaskimhon participants are expected to work toward reaching consensus on the mooted problems by the end of the second day. 

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: Law 352: Aboriginal Peoples and the Law. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors for the 2023-2024 moot are Stephen Mussell and Aaron Wilson. If you have additional questions about the program, please email Lee Schmidt at lschmidt@allard.ubc.ca. 

Application:

• Complete the 2024-2025 Kawaskimhon Moot Application Form and submit it as part of the application package.
• 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

Sponsors: This moot is generously sponsored by Mandell Pinder LLP.

The Laskin Moot is a national competition in Canadian administrative and constitutional law, founded in 1985-86 named in honour of former Chief Justice Bora Laskin. The problem is set each year by a scholar of administrative and/or constitutional law and concerns a subject of timely interest in these fields, within the jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Canada.

The moot is bilingual: each team's presentation must include the use of both English and French. The team has four students, though a fifth is sometimes added as researcher. It is not necessary that all members of the team be able to speak French, but it is an advantage to understand some French even if a particular team member is mooting in English.  At least one team member must present his or her oral argument in French and write the corresponding part of the factum in that language.  Simultaneous translation is possible for the benefit of unilingual mooters.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 372.001 Administrative Law, Law 347B Federalism. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Emily Lapper, Julia Lockhart and Rory Shaw. If you have additional questions about the program, please email Emily Lapper at  emily.lapper@gov.bc.ca.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

Sponsors: N/A.

The Mathews Dinsdale and Clark LLP National Labour Arbitration Competition takes place between two-person teams from eight law schools across Canada. The law is assumed to be Ontario labour law, but the legislation and general issues are pan-Canadian. The arbitration is based on an agreed statement of facts and the team selects their chosen relevant cases and prepares for a number of practice sessions. These practice sessions are held before panels of prominent British Columbia lawyers and arbitrators, and the students practice to present and argue both sides of the problem.

The grading is based chiefly on oral presentation and the ability to handle questions from the panels, with some marks for selection and use of authorities. There is no factum to file. On the first day of the competition, the teams argue for one side in the morning and the other side in the afternoon, before panels of Ontario labour lawyers and Ontario Labour Board members.  At the evening banquet, the two top teams are announced, and the next day, those two teams compete for the Cup. The winning team members receive a grant toward their third-year school fees. 

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: The students selected must be in second year law at the time of the competition. Law 416.002 Labour Law is recommended but not required.

Advisor/Coaches: The advisor/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Associate Professor Supriya Routh, Jenn Russell and Alie Teachman.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Associate Professor Supriya Routh at routh@allard.ubc.ca. 

Sponsors: The National Labour Arbitration Competition is generously sponsored by Roper Greyell LLP, Victory Square Law Office, and Moore Edgar Lyster LLP.

Not offered in 2024-25.

The Oxford Moot brings students from all over the world to Oxford University to moot problems focused on intellectual property (IP) rights. Students first prepare written submissions on a current IP problem. The Moot consists of a written phase and oral proceedings. The oral competition is held over three days in late March in Oxford is and hosted by the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre in partnership with an Oxford college (Pembroke College) that provides accommodation, food, and a venue for the events. 

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 422.001 Intellectual Property. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisor was Associate Professor Graham Reynolds.

Application: N/A 

Sponsors: The Allard Law team is generously sponsored by Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala, Western Canada's largest independent intellectual property firm.

The Peter Burns Mock Trial Competition is a criminal trial, rather than an appeal moot. Eight students compete, pairing up to act as counsel in a mock trial. Students engage with a number of trial skills, including direct and cross-examination, objections and openings and closings.  Two practicing lawyers coach each pair of students during practice sessions held on one evening a week in the Hornby Street courthouse downtown. On the day of the competition, two mock trials are held—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Students receive two credits for participating in the competition.

The two winning students receive the Peter Burns trophy and go on to represent the University of British Columbia in the Western Canada Moot Competition (the MacIntyre Cup) usually held in February.  The first and second place teams at the Western Canada Moot then compete in the National Trial Moot Competition (the Sopinka Cup), held in Ottawa in early March.  The Sopinka Cup is sponsored by the Advocates Society and the American College of Trial Lawyers. Students receive two further credits in for participating in these competitions.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 474.001 Trial Advocacy and LAW 476 Evidence. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Associate Professor Nikos Harris, David Jardine, KC and Stephanie Dickson.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Associate Professor Nikos Harris at nharris@allard.ubc.ca.​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​​Sponsors: The Peter Burns Moot is generously sponsored by Joven Narwal and the BC Crown Counsel Association. The Western Canada (MacIntyre Cup) Moot is generously sponsored by Joven Narwal.

Not offered in 2024-25.

The goal of the Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is to foster the study of international commercial law and arbitration for resolution of international business disputes through its application to a concrete problem of a client. The moot takes place in Vienna and has two phases: the writing of memorandums for claimant and respondent and the hearing of oral argument based upon the memorandums -- both settled by arbitral experts in the issues considered. The forensic and written exercises require determining questions of contract -- flowing from a transaction relating to the sale or purchase of goods under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and other uniform international commercial law -- in the context of an arbitration of a dispute under specified Arbitration Rules.

In the pairings of teams for each general round of the forensic and written exercises, every effort is made to have civil law schools argue against common law schools -- so each may learn from approaches taken by persons trained in another legal culture. Similarly, the teams of arbitrators judging each round are from both common law and civil law backgrounds. 

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: None.

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2020-2021 moot were a number of highly experienced arbitration counsel from Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) LLP, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Professor Biuković.

Application: N/A 

Sponsors: The Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is generously sponsored by Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) LLP  and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Not offered in 2024-25.

The Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot is Canada's first and only national moot court competition devoted to environmental law. Its goal is to promote awareness of the growing role of environmental issues in contemporary legal practice and public life, while enhancing law students' written and oral advocacy skills.  The competition takes the form of an appeal before a Canadian court of last resort, bringing together law students, judges, leading lawyers and legal academics to explore cutting-edge environmental law issues. The competition is open to teams from all Canadian law faculties.

Teams consist of two or three students. Each team files a factum for one party. At the oral hearing, teams argue one side of the appeal in their first match and the other side in their second. The playoff and final matches are judged by senior appellate judges. Teams present their factums and oral argument in English.

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: LAW 387C.001 Environmental Law. 

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Keith Brown and Mark Youden.

Application: N/A.

Sponsors: The Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot is generously sponsored by Allard Law and Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP.

The Wilson Moot was established in 1992 to honour the outstanding contribution to Canadian law made by Madam Justice Bertha Wilson. The spirit of this moot is to promote justice for those traditionally disempowered within the legal system, and, in particular, to explore legal issues concerning women and minorities. The oral argument part of the competition is usually held in Toronto.

Each school fields a team of two appellant’s counsel and two respondent’s counsel.  Some schools, including Allard Law, also have a fifth student as a researcher/alternate for the team. There are separate team awards for both the written and the oral argument sections of the Moot. The oral argument consists of a preliminary round, during which the mooters compete twice against their counterparts from other law schools, and the final round. The top two schools after the preliminary round compete against each other in the final. 

Pre-requisite/Co-requisite Courses: None.

Advisor/Coaches: The advisors/coaches for the 2023-2024 moot are Professor Hoi Kong, Allison Render, and Margery Pazdor.

Application: 2024-2025 Application Fact Sheet

If you have additional questions about the program, please email Professor Hoi Kong at kong@allard.ubc.ca. 

Sponsors: The Wilson Moot is generously sponsored by Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) LLP.