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UWLA Law Students Shine Yet Again In 2024 National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition
Moot court is a time-honored teaching tool for simulating proceedings before an appellate court. Law students can use it to test and refine their written and oral appellate advocacy skills. Moot court proceedings are different from mock trials, which involve simulated jury or bench trials.Two law students from the University of West Los Angeles (UWLA) School of Law recently participated in the prestigious University of San Diego School of Law Appellate Moot Court Team. In the 2024 National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition, the UWLA team faced off against 29 other teams from across the country.
“Moot court, like other forms of practical advocacy, is an important part of law school because it introduces and reinforces not just what lawyers need to learn, but what they do,” explained David Glassman, UWLA Moot Court Coach/Professor. “This year, representing UWLA were two outstanding students, Gina Coconato-Hering and Hailey Borgia.”
Ms. Borgia and Ms. Coconato-Hering advanced to the Sweet 16 in the separate oral argument component of the competition after their matches against the University of Alabama School of Law, Baylor Law School (the eventual oral argument champion), Chapman Law School, and Pepperdine Law School.
Each team participates in four one-hour oral arguments to a panel of judges during two days of competition. After the first four rounds, approximately half the teams are eliminated, and the advancing teams move on to the "knockout rounds." The primary goal of any team is to advance beyond the preliminaries and into the knockout rounds. The advancers are called "The Sweet 16." Ms. Borgia and Ms. Coconato-Hering advanced beyond the preliminary rounds to the knockout rounds. Their appellate court arguments, alternating between representing both sides in a lawsuit, drew high praise from the various evaluators who assessed and scored their presentations.
Professor Glassman points out that UWLA was likely the only non-American Bar Association institution taking part in the tournament, much less advancing to the oral argument playoffs, highlighting the impressive nature of these students’ accomplishments.
“In the brief written category, the UWLA brief placed in the highest echelon of this very competitive national event,” added Professor Glassman. “While their argument scores were very impressive, the brief rank, which was amongst the highest in the event, is truly a remarkable result.”
UWLA President Robert Brown gave high praise to the students. “Ms. Borgia and Ms. Coconato-Hering represented UWLA with distinction,” said President Brown. “All of us at UWLA congratulate these women for their outstanding work and wonderful collaboration. They have more than maintained UWLA's tradition of excellence in demonstrating exceptional yet practical lawyering skills. It is probably safe to say that they were the only competitors who balanced careers while completing law school, making their accomplishments all the more impressive.”
At a recent UWLA student and alumni mixer event, prior Moot Court alumni were present to congratulate this year’s excelling team. Alumna and current adjunct faculty member Stephanie Trice was a prior UWLA Moot Court champion during her 3rd year. She was present at the gathering to help present the 2025 team their honor; she also received President Brown's Alumni Certificate of Recognition Award for her outstanding contributions as a student, alumna, and now a UWLA Professor.
Ms. Borgia and Ms. Coconato-Hering were humbled by the experience and grateful to UWLA for the support and confidence in them. “UWLA has profoundly affected me as a student,” stated Ms. Coconato-Hering. “The family atmosphere here at UWLA is unlike anything I've ever seen. And having that sort of support system around you as you try to tackle a monumental task like moot court makes all the difference.”
“UWLA sets you up to meet your best self,” concluded Ms. Borgia. “You've got professors who want you to succeed, and you are handed the tools to get there. They can see it in you. I think when they know you can do more and they push you to get there, thank God, because sometimes it's hard to take these steps, but those are the big things that get you to big places.”