Competition Overview
Rhetoric’s Moot Court Madness is a single-elimination event designed for law school students to showcase their oral advocacy skills. Each round will be judged using Rhetoric’s AI-powered oral argument tool, Cicero.
Practice & Demos
- Competitors will receive a Rhetoric account & access to the platform to practice, starting March 18 through the entirety of their time in the competition.
- Competitors should use their Rhetoric account credentials to log into the platform prior to the beginning of the First Round.
- Competitors can practice with the “Oral Argument (General)” recording type in Cicero
- Group demos of Rhetoric’s platform/tools will be held on:
- March 18, 19, & 20
- Competitors can practice in any way they would like, so long as their submissions for the competition are within the boundaries of the rules.
Packets & Distribution
- Packets will be distributed on the first day of each round (Wednesday)
- March 26 – First Round (Packet 1)
- April 2 – Round of 32 (Packet 1 – flip sides)
- April 9 – Round of 16 (Packet 2)
- April 16 – Quarter Finals (Packet 2 – flip sides)
- April 23 – Semi-Finals (Packet 3)
- April 30 – Championship (Packet 3 – flip sides)
- Each packet is two pages in length.
- Packets are recycled between rounds to reduce strain on contestants. Whenever possible, contestants will argue the opposite side from what they did in the previous round. Packets will be used for two rounds at a time, with a new packet provided after. There will be a total of three packets for the competition.
Competition Format
- This is an individual competition, not a team competition.
- The competition follows a single-elimination format.
- Each round features two competitors arguing opposing sides of a provided case packet in a head-to-head format.
- Each competitor will record themselves presenting their argument in the allotted timeframe. There will not be interrupting questions during the submission. Competitors will simply record their presentation without interruption.
- The competition is solely for oral argument. There is no briefing portion.
- Following your submission, an AI analysis software (Cicero) will score each presentation to determine the winner for that round.
- Winners will be announced on the day following each round of competition, unless otherwise noted by Rhetoric.
- Accounts for non-advancing competitors will be deactivated following each round.
- All competitors will be asked to complete a brief, five-question survey following during the first round. This is a required part of participation in the competition. Failure to respond may result in dismissal from the competition.
Argument Structure & Presentation
- Presentations shall be 10 minutes (minimum) to 12 minutes (maximum).
- Presentations must be in English for AI analysis purposes.
- Consider using the following structure below:
- Opening Statement (2 minutes)
- Main Argument (6-8 minutes)
- Additional Arguments/Statements (2 minutes)
- Only one submission attempt is allowed per round. Additional submissions will not be accepted or evaluated for competition purposes.
- The “Moot Court Madness” recording type should only be used for final submissions.
- Cameras must remain on and the participant must be visible, while recording their submission.
- Scripts cannot be used during the presentation. It is okay to use a notecard with bulletpoints, with no size specifications for the notecard, however, they should not be used as a script. Any competitor who looks to be reading for prolonged periods may be penalized or disqualified.
- Scores and submissions will not be visible to competitors or their opponents. The sole exception is that Rhetoric may post winning scores on the bracket for those advancing.
- There is no formal dress code for presentations.
- Rhetoric reserves the right to enforce penalties or dismiss contestants for non-compliance with these rules.
AI Analysis & Scoring
- The AI analysis software (Cicero) will evaluate arguments based on clarity, understanding of the law, persuasiveness, and packet-specific information, among other criteria.
- AI scores will determine the winner of each round unless a tie occurs (see Human Review Process below) or a contestant is dismissed or disqualified.
- The AI will not judge on visual aspects, appearance, or mannerisms.
Human Review Process
- In the event of a tie, a panel of multi-disciplinary human judges will review each submission based on oral argument delivery, legal reasoning, and any other factor deemed relevant to determine a round winner.
- Any decision reached by the human review panel is final.
- Rhetoric reserves the right to review submissions for signs of misconduct and may dismiss contestants for suspected misconduct (regardless of whether there is a tie).
Conduct & Professionalism
- Competitors must maintain professionalism in their conduct and communications during the competition.
- Rhetoric reserves the right to disqualify any competitors deemed disruptive, disrespectful, or non-compliant.
- AI tools may be used by contestants for legal research and preparation purposes but must not be used to generate any materials (like audio or a script) for oral arguments submissions. Non-AI Written or typed scripts can be used for practice.
- Use of a notecard during the oral argument is allowed.
- The competition is for individuals, and each competitor must argue their cases alone.
Awards & Recognition
- All prizes will be distributed upon completion of the competition.
- The overall winner will receive $5,000.
- The overall winner will not receive the Round of 16 prize.
Amendments & Final Authority
- The competition committee reserves the right to modify the rules at any time.
- Competitors will be notified of any changes prior to competition rounds.
For questions, please contact the competition organizers at moot@userhetoric.com.