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About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
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Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
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Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Participation Information
USC Gould School of Law
- HALE MOOT COURT HONORS PROGRAM
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- PARTICIPATION INFORMATION
- COMPETITION
- EXECUTIVE BOARD
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- USC NATIONAL MOOT COURT TEAM
Qualifying for the Hale Moot Court Honors Program
Hale Moot Court Honors Program participants are second-year students; tryouts take place at the end of their first year.
Procedure and Policies for the Qualifying Rounds
- In April of their spring semester, first-year students will have the opportunity to sign up for a Qualifying Round, which will be judged by Executive Board members and the participants of the Hale Moot Court Honors Program. The Qualifying Rounds will take place after all first-year students have completed the oral argument portion of their Legal Research, Writing, and Advocacy class.
NOTE: Transfer students will have the opportunity to try out during a Qualifying Round to be held before the start of their second year at USC Gould School of Law. - The Qualifying Round will be based on the same fact pattern, issues, and case law that the first-year students have argued in the oral argument portion of their Legal Writing, Research, and Advocacy class.
- First-year students will not be allowed to consult with Executive Board members or the participants of the Hale Moot Court Honors Program about the Qualifying Rounds--neither before nor after their individual round--but may contact the Faculty Advisor, Chair, Administrative Vice Chair, or Advocacy Vice Chair for administrative questions, such as scheduling.
- Invitations will be extended to candidates in late summer, before the start of their second year.
Invitation to the Hale Moot Court Honors Program
The Executive Board extends invitations to candidates who excel in three different areas:
- Oral Advocacy Component
Most importantly, participants must be effective oral advocates. Therefore, a participant's qualification score is, in part, determined by performance in oral argument before Executive Board members and Hale Moot Court participants. The participant's performance in the oral argument portion of their Legal Research, Writing, and Advocacy class will not be considered.
- Written Component
Participants must also have strong written skills. Thus, another component of a participant's qualification score is based on the grade earned on the brief written in relation to the oral argument portion of their Legal Research, Writing, and Advocacy class.
- Grade Point Average Component
The Executive Board also considers the strength of prospective participants' cumulative grade point averages.
RECENT NEWS

USC Gould Law Library showcases ‘rejuvenating power of music’
June 2, 2023
Performances feature LA Philharmonic concertmaster, saxophone quartet

‘The Best Beloved Thing is Justice’
June 1, 2023
New book by Gould alum Lisa Kloppenberg celebrates life of Judge and former Dean Dorothy W. Nelson

USC Gould Title IX trailblazer works to put more women in leadership roles
May 30, 2023
"If we can continue moving forward, the future is very bright," says Associate Dean Nickey Woods