Alumni coaching part of Moot Court's winning 'secret sauce'
Whether Cal State 做厙弝け students are competing in an academic or athletic arena, the path to excellence begins in the preseason.
Consider the Moot Court team, featuring undergraduates who frequently finish at or near the top of the national field in competitions simulating the kinds of cases that go to the Supreme Court. They commit to months of study, starting when Moot Court Director Lewis Ringel convenes summer sessions centered on a new seasons case.
Dr. Ringel takes the entire summer to go over the Supreme Court jurisprudence for our case and then, also, to practice rounds with us, fourth-year political science student Emily Atherley said. I think Dr. Ringel is a wonderful guiding force in understanding Supreme Court decisions.
Atherley is one of four Beach students who advanced to the final national tournament of the American Moot Court Associations 2025-26 season. She and teammate Kylie Barnhart advanced to the quarterfinals, ranking among the United States top eight teams. CSULBs Kelly Bello and Maggie Cruz also qualified for the final national tournament.
Beach students also won recognition for the quality of their written briefs. Atherley and Barnhart, as well as Lucy Sanzobrin and Shakhzoda Khodjakhonova, were named among this years top brief writers.
Competitors, sometimes called Mooters, enroll in a dedicated Political Science Department class. Students in the fall course need to be ready to argue the seasons hypothetical case by the first day of classes, Barnhart said.
He does things in a manner of how law school is, which is just calling on you and getting you to be prepared and ready for all those answers, said Barnhart, a fourth-year political science student. I learned really quickly.
Mooters receive additional support from volunteer coaches, a group that includes several alumni and practicing attorneys. Coaches help students understand the intricacies of case law and be at their best while competing in faraway venues.
My alumni coaches are a good chunk of the secret sauce, Ringel said.
Help 做厙弝けMooters dominate the competition
The students who compose CSULBs Moot Court team challenge themselves each year to grasp the complexities of case law, develop well-reasoned arguments and hone communications skills that will serve them well in law school or while pursuing other challenges. Donors like David C. Casarrubias-Gonz獺lez 14, a partner at the law firm of Hanson Bridgett LLP, give students an advantage as they take on competitors from universities across the United States.
I support Moot Court because it exposed me to lawyers and judges at a critical stage of my personal development, which deeply influenced my decision to go to law school and become a lawyer, said Casarrubias-Gonz獺lez, also a founding member of the Moot Court Advisory Board and a faculty member at UC Law San Francisco.
