Description:
The Wagner Labor Law Moot Court Program is named after Robert F. Wagner, Sr., whose distinguished career as a social reformer included sponsorship of the national Labor Relations Act. Case problems are based on labor law issues, and, occasionally, on employment law issues such as wrongful discharge and employment discrimination. Participants hone skills in researching administrative decisions, federal court decisions, federal statutes, and legislative histories, skills needed in all areas of legal practice.
Twelve second-year students are selected to receive rigorous writing and orals training. Participants complete three drafts of an appellate brief. In the spring, Wagner members engage in a series of practice, and then performance, arguments, and receive instruction from attorneys, directors, and oral coaches. The competition team is selected in the spring. Its members will both compete as 3Ls and serve as directors of the program. The national competition is among the nation's largest, attracting over thirty law schools from around the country, and is hosted by New York Law School in New York City. Course credits: Second-year students receive two credits, one in the fall and one in the spring. Third-year directors receive four credits. Selection: In addition to applying the primary selection factors of the brief, legal writing instructors' input (especially on orals skills), and information from the general application, directors seek diverse ethnic and experiential backgrounds.
