Mooting program

Solomon Greenberg Trial Moot Competition

The Solomon Greenberg Trial Moot Competition has a more than 50-year history as the annual in-house trial competition held at Robson Hall each fall. Winners go on to represent Robson Hall in the regional Western (MacIntyre) Cup Moot Competition, from which the winners proceed to the National Sopinka Cup.

Western Canada Trial Competition (MacIntyre Cup)

The MacIntyre Cup is the annual regional trial advocacy moot competition for law schools in Canada’s western provinces. The cup is named for Dr. Malcolm MacIntyre, a well-loved and respected professor who formerly taught at UBC’s Faculty of Law.

National Trial Advocacy Competition (Sopinkina Cup)

Winners of the MacIntyre Cup and other regional competitions from a total of eight law schools representing various geographical areas across Canada, go on to compete in the bilingual National Finals hosted in Ottawa, called the Sopinka Cup. This annual trial advocacy competition is organized by The Advocates' Society and sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers. It is a two-day event that promotes training law students in the art of oral advocacy.

Michel Bastarache Moot Court Competition

The Michel Bastarache Moot is a French-language legal advocacy competition, which will be held annually, commencing in Ottawa in March 2019. The competition is named after former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Michel Bastarache, C.C., Q.C.

The Davies' Annual Corporate/Securities Law Moot

The Davies Corporate/Securities Law Moot is organized by the Toronto law firm Davies Ward Phillips and Vineberg LLP. The competition provides students with the opportunity to debate current legal issues in corporate and securities law.

The Donald G. H. Bowman National Tax Moot

The Bowman is the first competitive moot on taxation in Canada, and is named after the former Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada, the Honourable Donald G. H. Bowman. Over the course of two days, students compete in two preliminary rounds, semi-finals and the final moot. A panel of three judges select the winners, who are announced on the last day of the competition at a dinner. As of 2017, the competition is now bilingual.

• About the Bowman

The Gale Cup

The Gale Cup is an annual bilingual criminal/constitutional appellate moot competition, founded in 1974 by the Canadian Bar Association-Ontario in recognition of the former Chief Justice of Ontario, the Honourable George Gale. Each year law students from across the country gather to moot a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision.

• Gale Cup Moot

The Harold G. Fox Intellectual Property Moot

The Harold G. Fox Moot was created to promote education in the intellectual property field, and to provide the opportunity for participants and jurists of the Supreme, Ontario, and Federal Courts, as well as experienced practitioners of intellectual property law to interact. It is named in honour of one of Canada’s leading intellectual property scholars and advocates, the late Harold G. Fox.

• Fox Moot

The Laskin Moot Court Competition

The Laskin is an annual national bilingual moot court competition in Canadian administrative and constitutional law. Each year, approximately 19 of Canada’s 23 law schools participate in the competition.

• Laskin Moot

Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot

The Kawaskimhon (which roughly translates from Cree to “speaking with knowledge”) is a consensus-based, non-adversarial moot that incorporates Indigenous legal traditions with federal, provincial and international law. Mooters participate in roundtable negotiations on a particular topic in Indigenous law, representing their assigned parties.

The Robson Hall Negotiation Competition

Third-year law students who participate had excelled in the Legal Negotiation course they took in their second year of law school. The main purpose of this competition is to develop superb negotiating skills in all Robson Hall graduates. Because all legal training and professional expertise is directed toward solving a client’s problems, negotiation is the primary tool to accomplish that. The winners of Robson Hall’s Negotiation Competition, go on to work with dedicated coaches at the National competition.

The Walsh Family Law Moot and Negotiation Competition

The Walsh Family Law Moot Competition was established in 2012 to develop relationships between law schools and practitioners, and to encourage the study of family law. This national moot is open to all law schools. Teams of between two and four members are selected to compete in accordance with the Family Law Moot Competition Selection Policy. Leading Ontario family law practitioners and judges assist in drafting the moot problem and grading of factums, as well as judging the moot.

The Canadian National Negotiation Competition

The Canadian National Negotiation Competition provides a means for law students to practice and improve their negotiating skills. The competition simulates legal negotiations in which law students, acting as lawyers, negotiate a series of legal problems. The simulations deal with the same general topic, but the negotiation situation varies with each round and level of the competition.  The winners of the CNNC will advance to the International Negotiation Competition.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

Jessup is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries.  It provides law students with the opportunity to prepare written and oral arguments on complex issues of public international law involving hypothetical cases before the International Court of Justice.

• Learn more about the Jessup Moot 
• Jessup Canada on Twitter

The Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada

The Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada allows law students who participate, the opportunity to apply and refine their legal education/skills in the simulation of a National Hockey League (NHL) salary arbitration. Connecting young sports law enthusiasts with some of the industry’s leading academics and practitioners, promotes and encourages the field of sports law.

The Mini Moot

Created in 2018 and run by the Manitoba Law Student Association (MLSA)'s Clinical Experience Commitee, the Mini Moot is an appellate format competition that provides students at Robson Hall with an opportunity to not only apply their legal knowledge to a risk-free challenge, but helps develop the practical skills necessary for a successful legal career. It provides students with hands-on experience in legal research, argumentation, and public speaking within a supportive and constructive setting.

• MLSA

• Clinical Experience Committee

The Art Braid Business Law Case Competition

Established in 2023, the Art Braid Business Law Case Competition is organized by the Business Law Group (BLG). The inaugural competition took place on March 17, 2023, at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP's downtown offices. Honoring the late Edwin Arthur "Art" Braid, a highly respected professor and former Dean, the competition is dedicated to improving students' legal reasoning skills and fostering a heightened understanding of corporate/commercial law.

• Business Law Group

• Former Deans