Alumni
Engaged Learning
Building Skills Under Pressure: 2025 Advanced Moot Court Competition
Kayli Tait ‘27 and Shane Audet ‘26 met “countless times” in person and on Zoom to prepare for this year’s Advanced Moot Court Competition (AMC). Before transferring to USF Law last year, Audet says he had never participated in a moot court program and felt that public speaking wasn't his strength.
On Friday, September 19, they stood before three volunteer AMC judges and won first place.
"What led to our success was our diligent practice," Audet said. "Much of the support came from our advisor, Sadie Stone ‘26. She was excellent at providing feedback and pointing out both our strengths and weaknesses."
Tait adds that she viewed each round of the competition as an opportunity to grow, and she recommends that more law students take on the challenge. “The more you’re open to learning, the stronger you’ll become. By the end of the competition, you’ll not only be a better advocate, but you’ll also walk away with confidence and skills that extend far beyond it.”
The AMC finale brought together the top four advocates - Audet, Tait, Vivian Liu ‘26, and Ivan Villegas ‘26 - from a pool of fifty-three competitors. Over five rounds of oral argument, the finalists delivered their cases before the Honorable Chi Soo Kim, the Honorable Anne Costin '08, and the Honorable Dorothy Proudfoot.
Moot Court Program Director, Professor Monalisa Vu ‘01 sees AMC as a testing ground. "This competition is the place to treat the law like an experimental lab," she said. "You're going to compete against other teams from other schools, having grown in the practical skills of lawyering, like issue spotting, brief writing, advocacy, presentation skills, and educating an audience."
The competition also asks students to build partnerships under pressure. "It's a test to see whether students can develop a successful rapport with a teammate that may make or break the legal team," Vu said. While faculty members like Vu prepare students in myriad ways, student leaders take on the bulk of AMC organization. In particular, AMC Director Desi Davis ‘26 “took the project from A to Z," Vu said. "She got to work last semester in April, pulling it all together. As a person, she's an incredible model of professionalism."
