National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
February 19-21, 2004
Fact Sheet
The
Sixteenth Annual National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC)
will be held on Thursday, February 19 through Saturday, February 21, 2004
at Pace University School of Law, White Plains, New York.
Registration
The
registration deadline is October 6, 2003. Each participating school is
required to complete and return a registration form to Pace, accompanied
by the team registration fee of $375, payable by check to Pace University
School of Law–NELMCC. The registration fee covers most meals, including
continental breakfasts, lunches and an evening reception. Teams are
responsible for their travel arrangements, hotel expenses and some meals.
Registration is limited to
one team per school. Acceptance is based on a "first come, first
served" basis. Registrations
received after October 6, 2003 will be accepted at the discretion of the
NELMCC Board but will not be accepted after October 31, 2003. Registration
is not complete until the Competition office has received both the
registration form and fee. The Problem will be distributed on the
scheduled distribution date only to schools whose registration is
complete. Late or incomplete registrants will receive the Problem when the
fee is paid in full. Please
contact your school business/financial office promptly to initiate check
processing.
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The Problem
The
legal Problem drafted each year involves timely issues of national
importance to the practice of environmental law. Recent topics have
included illegal dumping of hazardous waste, vicarious criminal liability
of corporate officers for their company’s environmental crimes and
commerce clause limits on water pollution regulation.
The
Problem and Rules will be distributed by mail and e-mail on or about
October 10, 2003 to all schools who have registered and paid in full.
The
Problem will later be posted on the Pace Law School web site.
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Briefs
Each
team will write a brief for one of the respective parties’ legal
positions. The measuring brief and seven other copies of the brief
identified only by team number (see Rule IV(B)) must be mailed or
otherwise shipped to the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
at Pace University School of Law. Packages
containing briefs must bear a postmark or other indicia proving date of mailing
no later than December 4, 2003. The team should maintain proof of mailing,
either a postal receipt or a tracking number assigned by the shipper for
delivery verification.
Teams
will serve their briefs on the other teams via a posting of the briefs on
the Pace Law School web site. Each school must e-mail one copy of its
brief (NOT the measuring brief) by December 4, 2003, 11:59 p.m. (EST) to
the Competition Coordinator (see contact information on last page). Each
team should insure that the e-mailed brief contains no identifying
information, except the team number. Meeting this deadline will constitute
fulfillment of the obligation to serve opposing teams. A page will be
created on the Pace web site with links to all the teams' briefs,
identified only by the team number. On December 11, the Coordinator will
send to each team contact information on how to gain access to the briefs.
The content, legal analysis and accuracy of the briefs are graded by
practicing environmental attorneys.
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Oral Rounds
Scoring
in the preliminary rounds is based on a combination of the brief score
and scores from the oral rounds. Scoring in the quarterfinal,
semifinal and final rounds is based solely on oral performance.
Oral arguments begin with the preliminary rounds on Thursday,
February 19, 2004 and conclude with the final round on Saturday
afternoon, February 21, 2004. Each argument will feature three adverse
teams. Judges evaluating the oral arguments include attorneys with
environmental law expertise, local attorneys, members of the Pace
environmental law faculty and judges from the Nation’s courts.
Final
round judges will be members of the federal bench and the US EPA
Environmental Appeals Board.
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Awards
Awards
are conferred on the winners in each of the following
categories:
Winning Team
Finalist Teams (two)
Best Oralist
David Sive Award for Best Brief Overall
Best
Briefs (representing the two remaining parties)
The 2003 National Environment Law Moot Court perpetual trophy is
currently at Willamette University College of Law. This traveling
trophy will be sent to the winner of the 2004 Competition.
Recent
winners include:
| Year |
Winner |
Finalists |
Best Brief |
Best Oralist |
| 2003 |
Willamette University |
Drake University
Louisiana State |
University of Hawaii |
Stetson |
| 2002 |
Lewis & Clark |
University of North Carolina
Florida State |
University of Washington |
University of Montana |
| 2001 |
California (Berkeley) |
University of Michigan
Lewis & Clark |
Yale |
University of Colorado |
| 2000 |
University of Texas |
University of Alabama
Ohio State |
Vermont |
University of Houston |
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Location and Accommodations
A
block of rooms has been reserved at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White
Plains, located within a 15-minute walk to the Law School, at a special
room rate. The hotel provides free bus shuttle service to and from the
Competition. Teams must call the hotel directly to make reservations.
The
hotel telephone number is 914-682-0050. You must reserve by February 17,
2004 and mention the Pace Environmental Moot Court to receive the special
rate.
The
law school campus is a convenient 40-minute train ride from midtown
Manhattan. Information about events and activities in New York City is
available on the web at http://www.nycvisit.com/home/index.cfm.
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On the Web
 
The Competition maintains information from previous
moots on the Pace web at www.law.pace.edu/environmentalm/.
The Competition final round is broadcast live on the web via streaming
video/audio. Access to the broadcast is on the Law School home page.
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Important Dates and
Deadlines
| 1. Registration deadline |
October 6, 2003 |
2. Problem and Rules
distribution to registered teams
paid in full |
October 10, 2003 |
3. Briefs to be
postmarked to Pace University
School of Law |
December 4, 2003 |
4. Teams to e-mail their brief (NOT the measuring
brief) to Competition Coordinator by 11:59
pm
(EST) for posting on the Pace web site (in
fulfillment
of service on opposing teams)
|
December 4, 2003
|
5. Pace to e-mail access information linking to briefs on
web
site |
December 11, 2003 |
| 6. Hotel deadline
for reservations at special rate
|
February 17, 2004 |
| 7. Advance Competition check-in at Crowne Plaza |
February 18, 2004 |
| 8. Competition check-in at
Pace University |
February 19, 2004 |
| 9. Oral arguments begin (Preliminary
Rounds I & II) |
February 19, 2004 |
| 10. Preliminary Round III &
Quarterfinal Round |
February 20, 2004 |
| 11. Semifinal & Final Rounds |
February 21, 2004 |
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Refunds for Withdrawal
from Competition
Any request for withdrawal must be made in writing via mail or
e-mail using the contact information below. Refunds will be made
according to the following schedule.
|
Withdrawal Date |
Refund Portion
of Fee |
| 10/31/03 or before |
100% |
| 11/1/03 through 11/30/03 |
50% |
| 12/1/03 through 12/31/03 |
25% |
| 1/1/04 or after |
0% |
Contact
Information
Please send
registration forms and inquiries about the Competition to:
National
Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
Leslie Crincoli, P212
Pace University School of Law
78 North Broadway, P212
White Plains, NY 10603
Phone: 914.422.4413
Fax: 914.422.4261
E-mail:
lcrincoli@law.pace.edu
Web site: http://www.law.pace.edu/environmentalm/index.html
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