Edward C. Stone Moot Court Competition
Stone Moot Court Competition 2026
The Edward C. Stone Moot Court Competition is only open to all second-year JD students,* and runs from late September through mid-November. Students work in teams of two on one of three moot court problems. The Stone participants with the highest combined brief and oral argument scores are invited to participate in the second semester Homer Albers Prize Moot Court Competition. (Note that the number of students invited to participate in the Homer Albers Prize competition may vary based on the number of students competing in Stone, but will be between 16 and 32 students.) Jen Taylor McCloskey, the Executive Director of Advocacy and Legal Skills Programs, will hold an informational meeting for all interested participants early in the September (see dates below).
Competition materials will be posted to this page as they become available. If you are competing, please check this site frequently.
Students do not receive academic credit for their participation in moot court, but participation in Stone is a prerequisite for participation on any of BU Law’s school-funded intramural moot court teams, including teams organized by students and student groups.
*Second-year students who transferred from a different school’s JD program are eligible to participate in Stone. Second-year students who transferred to the JD program from the LLM program cannot participate in Stone until they have completed the Esdaile Moot Court Program (through Lawyering Skills) or have equivalent moot court experience. If an LLM transfer student needs to complete Esdaile Moot Court during their 2L year, those LLM transfer students are permitted to participate in Stone as 3Ls instead. If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact Jen McCloskey, at jataylor@bu.edu.
2026 Stone Directors: Paola Caliguiran, David Spinelli, Jason Walker
Email: stonemc@bu.edu
NOTE: Content will be added as it becomes available.
Registration
The Application closed on on September 22, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
NOTE: you must log in with your BU Email address to access the form.
Competition Rules
Important Competition Dates
Dates are always subject to change, including the problem release date, but any changes will be announced here and via email.
Information Session
Tuesday, September 8, 1 – 2 p.m.
Room 414
Recording and Slides
Application Due Date
Tuesday, September 22, 2 p.m.
Application Form
NOTE: you must log in with your BU Email address to access the form.
Problem Release Date
Thursday, September 24 (subject to change)
Brief Writing Workshops [links will be added following the workshop]
Tuesday, September 29, 1 – 2 p.m.
All competitors: 1 – 1:40 p.m. in Room 414
Recording and Slides
Breakout Rooms (1:40 – 2 p.m.):
- Problem 1: Room 414 (Recording [start at 40:00] and Slides)
- Problem 2: Room 418 (Recording and Slides)
- Problem 3: Room 420 (Recording and Slides)
Brief Writing Office Hours with Jen McCloskey
Note: If you want to attend office hours and these times do not work, let me know and I can extend them in one direction or another.
- Supplemental Workshop, followed by Q&A: Friday, October 9, 1:00-2:00pm (Slides and Recording)
- General Office Hours (Room 510D unless noted): For general brief writing questions
- Thursday, October 15, 12:30-2:00pm: MOVED TO ZOOM.
- Wednesday, October 21, 12:30-2:00pm – DATE CHANGE DUE TO A CONFLICT
Brief Due Date
Friday, October 23, by 3 p.m.
Oral Advocacy Workshop
Monday, October 26, 1 – 2 p.m. (Recording and Slides)
Room 602
Oral Argument Open Practices
- October 30 (Friday) from 1-3pm in Room 414 [NOTE THE TIME AND ROOM CHANGE]
- November 6 (Friday) from 11am-1pm in Room 602 (Schell Courtroom)
Oral Arguments
Arguments take place at 6:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and at 3 p.m. on Fridays. Additional times will be added if needed.
See Rules for additional information about scheduling and conflicts.
November 2 – 6
November 9 – 13
November 16 & 17 (Makeup arguments if needed)
Awards Announcement
We will announce the winners of the Best Brief and Best Oralist awards for each problem, as well as the names of the students invited to participate in Albers, at the Stone Awards Reception on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. The Reception will be held in the Charles River Room, and we will have plenty of food!
Problems
Problem Case Files (each problem contains two issues; teammates decide together who is briefing and arguing which issue).
TOC and TOA Creation Resources
Student Briefs
Access for competitors only. Log in with your BU email and password to access.
Argument Schedules
The oral argument schedules will be posted here as they become available. You need to be logged in with a BU email address to view the link. Contact the Help Desk if you have issues!
Week 1 (November 2 – 6)
Week 2 (November 9 – 12)
Judge Guidance (for attorney judges)
Sample Briefs
Sample briefs are for reference only. Briefs from the Homer Albers Prize competition are longer than allowed under the Stone Competition rules. These samples are intended to give you a sense of what a high-scoring brief from our Albers honors competitions looks like; they may not conform perfectly to the rules (which are different in Stone – in particular, the length requirements are different). You should refer to the Stone Competition rules for format and length restrictions. We have also posted a sample appellate brief written by attorney Peter Brann, a graduate of the Law School and former Homer Albers Prize winner.
Peter Brann – Sample Appellate Brief
Sample Briefs (zip file)
Sample Oral Arguments
Sample oral arguments are for reference only. The Stone Competition rules control!
National Moot Court Finals 2025 (feat. BU Law!)