National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
February 23-25, 2006
Fact Sheet
The
Eighteenth Annual National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC)
will be held on Thursday, February 23 through Saturday, February 25, 2006
at Pace Law School, White Plains, New York.
Registration
The
registration deadline is October 3, 2005. 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 Law School–NELMCC
or by credit card. The registration fee covers most meals, including
continental breakfasts, lunches and evening receptions. Teams are
responsible for their travel & hotel expenses and some meals.
Registration is limited to
one team per school. Acceptance is based on a "first come, first
served" basis, given existing space considerations.
Registrations
received after October 3, 2005 will be accepted at the discretion of the
NELMCC Board but will not be accepted after October 31, 2005. 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.
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Communication
All official correspondence from the NELMCC office to the registered teams will
be directed to the person listed as team contact on the registration form
either by mail or e-mail. It is the responsibility of the team
contact to disseminate all correspondence to each member of the team.
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 7, 2005 to all schools who have registered and paid in full.
The
Problem will later be posted on the Pace Law School web site. The
deadline for questions relevant to the Problem is November 10, 2005
pursuant to Rule II (B).
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Briefs
Each
team will write a brief for one of the respective parties’ legal
positions. In accordance with Rule IV, the measuring brief and seven
other copies of the brief identified only by team number 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 5, 2005
. The team must maintain proof of mailing, either a postal
receipt or a tracking number assigned by the shipper, for delivery
verification. A deduction
will be applied to late mailings (see Rule IV (C)(1)(d)).
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 5, 2005,
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
or about December 9, the NELMCC office will send 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 scores
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 23, 2006
and conclude with the final round on Saturday afternoon,
February
25, 2006
.
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
2005 National Environment Law Moot Court
perpetual trophy is currently at University of California Hastings
College of the Law. This traveling trophy will be awarded to the
winner of the 2006 Competition.
Recent
winners include:
| Year |
Winner |
Finalists |
Best Brief |
Best Oralist |
| 2005 |
UC Hastings |
Boston
College
University
of
Montana
|
Georgetown
University
|
The
University
of
Houston
|
| 2004 |
Lewis & Clark
College |
Boalt Hall-UC, Berkeley
Louisiana State University |
Temple University |
Willamette University |
| 2003 |
Willamette University |
Drake University
Louisiana State University |
University of Hawaii |
Stetson University |
| 2002 |
Lewis & Clark
College |
University of North Carolina
Florida State University |
University of Washington |
University of Montana |
| 2001 |
Boalt Hall-
UC, Berkeley |
University of Michigan
Lewis & Clark College |
Yale University |
University of Colorado |
| 2000 |
University of Texas |
University of Alabama
Ohio State University |
Vermont Law School |
The University of Houston |
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Location and Accommodations
The
law school campus is a convenient 45-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.
A
block of rooms has been reserved at a local hotel. The hotel
will provide limited shuttle service to and from the
Competition. Teams are responsible for their accommodations and must book
rooms directly with the hotel by the reservation deadline date
furnished by the hotel. More detailed information about hotel
accommodations will be furnished to all registrants.
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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 will be videotaped and/or web cast on the
Law
School
home page.
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Important Dates and
Deadlines
| 1. Registration deadline
(on or about) |
October 3, 2005 |
2. Problem and Rules
distribution to registered teams
paid in full |
October 7, 2005 |
| 3. Deadline for questions
relevant to the Problem |
November 10, 2005 |
4. Briefs to be
postmarked to Pace University
School of Law |
December 5, 2005 |
5. 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 5, 2005
|
6. Pace to e-mail access information linking to briefs on
web
site
(on or about) |
December 9, 2005 |
| 7. Advance Competition check-in at
hotel |
February 22, 2006 |
| 8. Competition check-in at
Pace Law School |
February 23, 2006 |
| 9. Preliminary
Rounds I & II |
February 23, 2006 |
| 10. Preliminary Round III &
Quarterfinal Round |
February 24, 2006 |
| 11. Semifinal & Final Rounds |
February 25, 2006 |
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Refund Information
(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 |
| 10/31/05 or before |
100% |
| 11/1/05 through 11/30/05 |
50% |
| 12/1/05 through 12/31/05 |
25% |
| 1/1/06 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:
nelmcc@law.pace.edu
Web site: http://www.law.pace.edu/environmentalm/index.html
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