The 2024 National Animal Law Competitions will be held March 23rd & 24th at Harvard Law School.
The purpose of the National Animal Law Competitions is to provide law students an opportunity to develop knowledge in the field of animal law and to hone their written and oral advocacy skills. Previous competitions were held annually from 2004-2016 with the revival in March 2023.
The National Animal Law Competitions consist of three distinct components:
• Appellate Advocacy Competition
• Legislative Drafting & Lobbying Competition
• Closing Argument Competition
The Legislative and Closing Argument competitions are for individuals, while the Appellate Advocacy Competition requires a team of two.
The deadline to register is September 30, 2023.
Each competition will require written submissions for the qualifying round that will be due December 1, 2023.
After reviewing those qualifying round submissions, in January the judges will select up to 8 Appellate Semi-Finalist teams, 10 Legislative Semi-Finalists, and 10 Closing Argument Semi-Finalists. Those selected semi-finalists will be invited to participate in the in-person closing rounds at Harvard Law School on March 23-24, 2024, with accommodations and travel stipends provided by the Brooks Institute.
The competitions are open to full- or part-time students seeking a J.D. at an ABA-approved law school, as well as Masters students for the Legislative Drafting & Lobbying Competition. There is no cap on the number of registrations, but students may register for only one event each year. The registration fee for each competition is $25, however need-based fee waivers will be available.
Materials from the 2023 Competitions can be found in the Archive.