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Please note: This course is offered only in the fall. And those wishing to drop the course must do so within three days after the first class.

The course introduces students to appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn the mechanics of briefing and arguing an appeal, as well as strategies for effective appellate advocacy. They also have the opportunity to refine their advocacy skills by orally arguing a case to an appellate judge. The central project entails each student briefing one side of a case and presenting oral argument for that side. The Fall 2023 syllabus is representative of how the course will be taught, including the assessment methods and assignments; in the Fall 2024, the instructor will be Judge Allegra Collins of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. An updated syllabus will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Please note: This course is offered only in the fall. And those wishing to drop the course must do so within three days after the first class.

The course introduces students to appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn the mechanics of briefing and arguing an appeal, as well as strategies for effective appellate advocacy. They also have the opportunity to refine their advocacy skills by orally arguing a case to an appellate judge. The central project entails each student briefing one side of a case and presenting oral argument for that side.

This semester, the course will be taught by three attorneys from the North Carolina Solicitor General’s Office.

Syllabus: 405-01-Fall2023-syllabus.docx24.48 KB

Please note: This course is offered only in the fall. And those wishing to drop the course must do so within three days after the first class.

The course introduces students to appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn the mechanics of briefing and arguing an appeal, as well as strategies for effective appellate advocacy. They also have the opportunity to refine their advocacy skills by orally arguing a case to an appellate judge. The central project entails each student briefing one side of a case and presenting oral argument for that side.

This semester, the course will be taught by three attorneys from the North Carolina Solicitor General’s Office.

Please note: This course is offered only in the fall.  And those wishing to drop the course must do so within three days after the first class.

The course introduces students to appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about strategies for effective appellate advocacy and refine their advocacy skills while briefing and orally arguing a case to an appellate judge. The central projects entail each student briefing one side of a case (researching and writing) and presenting oral argument for that side, with each student’s brief and oral argument reviewed by an appellate judge. This works as follows.  The entire class will be assigned the same case. Half the class will be assigned to represent the appellant and the other half will be assigned to represent the appellee. Each student will be paired against a student from the opposing side for briefing and oral argument. The class will have a briefing schedule with firm deadlines (deadlines coordinated with the appellate judges). Each student assigned to the appellant side will file an opening brief (the deadline for opening briefs historically has been in the second or third week of October, depending on when oral arguments are held); then each student assigned to the appellee side will file a brief responding to the paired student’s opening brief (that deadline is about a week after the opening brief deadline); then each appellant will file a reply brief (the reply deadline is about a week after the appellee’s deadline and historically has been around the very end of October or early November). Historically in this course the briefing volume limits have been set so that each student has been allotted no more than 10,000 words (a volume limit substantially lower than the limits prescribed by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure).  Oral arguments occur the week before Thanksgiving.  Each student meets (after oral argument) one-on-one with the judge who reviewed that student’s brief and argument.  

Please note: This course is offered only in the fall.  And those wishing to drop the course must do so within three days after the first class.

The course introduces students to appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about strategies for effective appellate advocacy and refine their advocacy skills while briefing and orally arguing a case to an appellate judge. The central projects entail each student briefing one side of a case (researching and writing) and presenting oral argument for that side, with each student’s brief and oral argument reviewed by an appellate judge. This works as follows.  The entire class will be assigned the same case. Half the class will be assigned to represent the appellant and the other half will be assigned to represent the appellee. Each student will be paired against a student from the opposing side for briefing and oral argument. The class will have a briefing schedule with firm deadlines (deadlines coordinated with the appellate judges). Each student assigned to the appellant side will file an opening brief (the deadline for opening briefs historically has been in the second or third week of October, depending on when oral arguments are held); then each student assigned to the appellee side will file a brief responding to the paired student’s opening brief (that deadline is about a week after the opening brief deadline); then each appellant will file a reply brief (the reply deadline is about a week after the appellee’s deadline and historically has been around the very end of October or early November). Historically in this course the briefing volume limits have been set so that each student has been allotted no more than 10,000 words (a volume limit substantially lower than the limits prescribed by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure), which amounts to less than 35 pages in double-spaced 12-pt Times New Roman.  Oral arguments occur the week before Thanksgiving.  Each student meets (after oral argument) one-on-one with the judge who reviewed that student’s brief and argument.  For Fall 2020, the arguments and meetings will be via video conference, not in person.

Please note: This course is offered only in the fall.  And those wishing to drop the course must do so within three days after the first class. 

The course introduces students to appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about strategies for effective appellate advocacy and refine their advocacy skills while briefing and orally arguing a case to an appellate judge. The central projects entail each student briefing one side of a case (researching and writing) and presenting oral argument for that side, with each student’s brief and oral argument reviewed by an appellate judge. This works as follows.  The entire class will be assigned the same case. Half the class will be assigned to represent the appellant and the other half will be assigned to represent the appellee. Each student will be paired against a student from the opposing side for briefing and oral argument. The class will have a briefing schedule with firm deadlines (deadlines coordinated with the appellate judges). Each student assigned to the appellant side will file an opening brief (the deadline for opening briefs historically has been in the second or third week of October, depending on when oral arguments are held); then each student assigned to the appellee side will file a brief responding to the paired student’s opening brief (that deadline is about a week after the opening brief deadline); then each appellant will file a reply brief (the reply deadline is about a week after the appellee’s deadline and historically has been around the very end of October or early November). Historically in this course the briefing volume limits have been set so that each student has been allotted no more than 10,000 words (a volume limit substantially lower than the limits prescribed by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure), which amounts to less than 35 pages in double-spaced 12-pt Times New Roman.  Oral arguments occur in mid-November, before Thanksgiving.  Each student meets (after oral argument) one-on-one with the judge who reviewed that student’s brief and argument.

The course introduces students to the practice of appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about the rules of appellate procedure and strategies for effective appellate advocacy while refining their legal writing and oral advocacy skills. The central project entails researching and writing an appellate brief (for appellants, an opening and a reply brief) and presenting an oral argument. The entire class will be assigned the same case. Half the class will be assigned to represent the appellant and the other half will be assigned to represent the appellee. Each student will be paired against a student from the opposing side for purposes of briefing and oral argument, so that each student can file a responsive brief and deliver a responsive oral argument. The briefs are reviewed and scored by appellate judges, who then preside over and score the orgal arguments (each student's brief and argument will be presented to one judge; at the conclusion of each oral argument, each student who participated in that argument will meet one-on-one with the reviewing judge).

The problem assigned in the course will be the same on used in the Dean's Cup competition. But Appellate Practice is not a prerequisite for participating in the competition. Students who cannot take the course are eligible for the Dean's Cup and are encouraged to participate.

Please note: This course is offered only in the fall.

Please note: This is a one-time spring offering of Appellate Practice, a course normally offered only in the fall semester.  In future years, as in the past, Appellate Practice course will be offered only in the fall semester.  Students who enroll in this spring 2017 course cannot enroll in Appellate Practice next fall.  And a student who has already taken Appellate Practice cannot enroll in this spring course.  This one-time spring offering differs from the usual fall course in several respects.  See below.

This course introduces students to the practice of appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about strategies for effective advocacy while refining their skills. The central project entails researching and writing an appellate brief followed by an oral argument to the instructor and a practitioner. The entire class will be assigned the same case, with half on one side and half on the other.

This one-time spring 2017 offering differs from the standard Appellate Practice course offered each fall in several respects.  For example, this spring course is not linked to the Dean’s Cup and has nothing to do with the Dean’s Cup or other moot court tournament.  Moreover, unlike the fall course, this spring offering will not involve real judges (in the fall course, students’ briefs and oral arguments are assessed by real appellate judges, who meet with students).  Compared with the fall course, this spring offering course will focus somewhat more on aspects of briefing/writing and somewhat less on oral advocacy.

This course introduces students to the practice of appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about the rules of appellate procedure and strategies for effective appellate advocacy while refining their legal writing and oral advocacy skills. The central project entails researching and writing an appellate brief (for appellants, an opening and a reply brief) and presenting an oral argument. The entire class will be assigned the same case. Half the class will be assigned to represent the appellant and the other half will be assigned to represent the appellee. Each student will be paired against a student from the opposing side for purposes of briefing and oral argument, so that each student can file a responsive brief and deliver a responsive oral argument. The briefs are reviewed and scored by federal appellate judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals, who then preside over and score the oral arguments (each student's brief and argument will be presented to one judge; at the conclusion of each oral argument, each student who participated in that argument will meet one-on-one with the reviewing judge).

Appellate Practice is strongly recommended for those students who plan to participate in the Dean's Cup moot court competition. The problem assigned in the course will be the same one used in the competition. Appellate Practice is strongly recommended for those students who plan to participate in the Dean's Cup moot court competition, as the problem assigned in the course will be the same one used in the competition. But Appellate Practice is not a prerequisite for participating in the competition. Students who cannot take the course are eligible for the Dean's Cup and are encouraged to participate.

This course introduces students to the practice of appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about the rules of appellate procedure and strategies for effective appellate advocacy while refining their legal writing and oral advocacy skills. The central project entails researching and writing an appellate brief (for appellants, an opening and a reply brief) and presenting an oral argument. The entire class will be assigned the same case. Half the class will be assigned to represent the appellant and the other half will be assigned to represent the appellee. Each student will be paired against a student from the opposing side for purposes of briefing and oral argument, so that each student can file a responsive brief and deliver a responsive oral argument. The briefs are reviewed and scored by federal appellate judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals, who then preside over and score the oral arguments (each student's brief and argument will be presented to one judge; at the conclusion of each oral argument, each student who participated in that argument will meet one-on-one with the reviewing judge).

Appellate Practice is strongly recommended for those students who plan to participate in the Dean's Cup moot court competition. The problem assigned in the course will be the same one used in the competition. Appellate Practice is strongly recommended for those students who plan to participate in the Dean's Cup moot court competition, as the problem assigned in the course will be the same one used in the competition. But Appellate Practice is not a prerequisite for participating in the competition. Students who cannot take the course are eligible for the Dean's Cup and are encouraged to participate.