Upper Year Moot (LAW432H1S) – 2022-2023

Introduction

This package contains all the information you will need to complete the Upper Year Moot
(the “moot”). In addition to this outline, the package includes the following: the rules for
the moot, the evaluation criteria and evaluation form, a mooting manual, excerpts from
the Ontario Court Rules, and a sample form from the Supreme Court of Canada forms.
All participating students should carefully review these materials. You should
review these materials prior to the mooting seminars, the first of which is on November
16, 2022.

What Is Expected of Me?

Students must complete, in teams of two, a factum and an oral argument. You will find
further information about what this means in the mooting manual.

The purpose of the moot is to expose students to an important element of any legal
education: the application of legal knowledge and research skills to the development and
presentation of a clear, persuasive, oral argument. This is an extremely valuable exercise
for all students, regardless whether they intend to litigate or practice law. We hope you
take this exercise seriously so you can get as much as possible out of it.

How will I be evaluated?

Students will be evaluated on a credit/no credit basis. Students are assigned one credit
representing their evaluation for both the written factum and their oral argument. Although
students will be provided with constructive comments on both elements of the moot
separately, they will be evaluated on both elements together. The single grade is
intended to reflect the reality that good legal advocacy is the result of an inextricable
combination of both written and oral skills.

More details on the criteria for evaluation are contained below. Please also refer to the
Academic Handbook for the Faculty’s general policies on evaluation.
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What Are the Important Dates?

Thursday, October 27, 2022: This mooting package is available electronically, and
students may indicate team and topic preferences by emailing Cathy Alzner at
associatedean.law@utoronto.ca.

Monday, November 7, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.: Deadline to obtain the mooting package and
to indicate team and topic preferences. Students who do not select a teammate and a
topic by this date will have one assigned to them.

Wednesday, November 9, 2022: Students must contact Brian Radnoff by this date if you
have a scheduling issue or limitation during the period scheduled for oral argument
(Monday to Thursday from January 30 to February 09, 2023, at 5:30 and 7:30). Students
who do not advise Brian Radnoff of scheduling issues or limitations by this date may not
be able to have their schedules accommodated..

Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 12:30-2:00 p.m., Moot Court Room (J250):
Introductory Seminar (attendance is mandatory).

Friday, November 25, 2022: Schedule for mooting assignments is posted on Quercus.
The moot problems are available on Quercus.

Friday, January 6, 2023: All students should have met with their moot supervisor by this
date.

Wednesday, January 11, 2023, 12:30-2:00 p.m., Moot Court Room (J250): Seminar
on Written and Oral Advocacy (attendance is mandatory).

Friday, January 13, 2022, 10:00 a.m.: Appellants submit draft factum to their supervisor.

Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 10:00 a.m.: Appellants’ final factum due, to be emailed
to your supervisor, moot judges and the respondents.

Friday, January 20, 2023, 10:00 a.m.: Respondents submit draft factum to their
supervisor.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 10:00 a.m.: Respondents’ final factum due, to be
emailed to your supervisor, moot judges and the appellants.

Monday-Thursday, January 30 to February 10, 2022 at 5:30 or 7:30 p.m.: Oral

argument to be scheduled during this period. Oral argument to take place at the Law
School.
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Where Do I Get the Materials?

The mooting materials (available October, 2022) and the moot problems and schedule
(available November, 2022) will be available electronically on Quercus. In addition, there
are mooting resources located on Quercus.

Please check Quercus often as we will post new information on an ongoing basis. When
important information has been posted, an email will be circulated to the mooters.

How Do I Indicate my Team and Topic Preference?

Up until November 7, 2022, you will have the option of submitting your preferred partner
and preferred moot topic by emailing Cathy Alzner at associatedean.law@utoronto.ca.
We encourage you to sign-up in teams of two. You are not permitted to sign up in teams
of four. Students who sign-up as individuals will be randomly assigned to a team with
other students who have signed-up as individuals.

Students should indicate their preferred type of problem from the following areas:
constitutional law, criminal law, torts, contract law, ethics/conflicts and
oppression/shareholder litigation. We will try to assign students to their preferred type of
problem, but there is no guarantee that this will happen.

The deadline to indicate your team and topic preference, and to obtain the moot
instruction package and manual, is October 31, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. If you do not submit
your preferences by this deadline, we will assign you a teammate and topic.

When Are Problems and Dates for Oral Argument Assigned?

In November, 2022, a preliminary schedule will be posted electronically on Quercus

indicating the mooting teams (both appellants and respondents), the assigned problem,
and the date of that team’s oral argument. A final schedule will be posted in December,
2022, which will include the moot supervisor’s name (discussed below) and contact
information.

If there is a scheduling problem (i.e. you have a legitimate academic reason why you
cannot do your oral argument on that date) during the period at the beginning of February,
2023, when oral argument will be scheduled, it is your responsibility to contact Brian
Radnoff as soon as possible to have your oral argument scheduled to accommodate you.
You can reach him at 416-777-4046 or bradnoff@dickinsonwright.com. If you do not
contact Brian about scheduling issues by November 9, 2022, it may not be possible to
accommodate your schedule.

Once students have been assigned their moot problems in November, it is only in
extraordinary circumstances that their moot problem will change. This has happened
very rarely, and only under circumstances outside our control. However, the time and
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date of your moot may change, so you must carefully review the schedules that are posted
to see whether there are any revisions.

Other than scheduling conflicts which Brian Radnoff will deal with, any requests
for extensions, other accommodations or withdrawal from the course must be
directed to the Interim Assistant Dean, JD Program, Eleonora Dimitrova at
eleonora.dimitrova@utoronto.ca.

What Will Be Covered in the Mandatory Seminars?

The introductory seminar in November will introduce the mooting program and will provide
an opportunity for students to ask questions. We will post a sample factum on Quercus
before this seminar, and we will discuss it at this seminar. Attendance is mandatory.

The oral and written advocacy seminar in January will provide you with valuable
assistance in factum writing and oral advocacy. Attendance is mandatory.

Who Are the Supervisors and What Is Their Role?

In December, a schedule will be posted electronically indicating your moot supervisor’s

name and contact information. Students will benefit from a mix of faculty and practitioner
moot supervisors.

The moot supervisors will assist both teams in completing the moot, answer questions on
factum drafting and oral argument, review at least one draft of your factum and act as the
presiding judge at your oral argument.

Your team and your opponents should speak or meet with your moot supervisor on or
before January 6, 2023, to discuss the moot problem and to ensure that you are on the
right track. Arrange this meeting at a mutually convenient time for your team, your
opponents and your moot supervisor.

Students are required to provide a draft factum to their moot supervisor in order to receive
feedback. This is an important part of the factum writing process. Appellants must
provide a draft copy of their factum to their supervisor by January 13, 2023. Respondents
must provide a draft copy of their factum to their supervisor by January 20, 2023.
Students who have not provided a draft to their supervisor will fail the moot.

If you have any difficulty contacting your supervisor, please immediately contact Brian
Radnoff. You can reach him at 416-777-4046 or bradnoff@dickinsonwright.com.
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Who Are the Moot Mentors?

If available, the moot mentors are third year students who have previously mooted. They
are available to answer your questions about your factum, oral argument and any general
questions about the moots. A contact list of mentors will be posted on Quercus.

Whom May I Work With and How Should We Divide the Work?

The factum will be prepared together with your partner. Each problem has two issues
and teams should divide the work by having each person take responsibility for
researching and writing the argument for one of the issues. Teams may divide the work
on the “facts” section of the factum, or one student may take responsibility for this section.

Judges will assume that the issue the student deals with in oral argument is also the issue
the student took responsibility for in the factum, and will evaluate the students on that
basis. We recommend, however, that you work on the factum as a team. If your team
wants your factum evaluated as a team factum (i.e. each team member is evaluated on
the factum as a whole rather than just for one issue), please notify the judges of this prior
to the oral argument. Please note that even if your factum is evaluated jointly, you and
your teammate may receive different final marks due to differences in your performance
in your oral argument.

In addition to working with your partner, you may also consult with your opposing team.
You are permitted to work with the member of the opposite team who is dealing with the
same issue to facilitate legal research. However, your factum must be your team’s own,
original work.

Am I the Appellant or the Respondent?

The problems specify which party is the appellant or the respondent team. Students will
note that, in order to make the moots more competitive, some of the moot problems have
the appellants winning on one issue and the respondents winning on the other. In this
situation, the appellants will still argue both issues, and will argue on the basis that the
court below should be upheld on the issue on which the appellants succeeded, and
reversed on the issue upon which the appellants did not succeed.

It is important to remember that you should stick to the moot issues specified in the moot
problem. The moot problem may give rise to other potential issues, but your role is to
research and argue the issues that have been specified for appeal. Please do not spend
time researching or addressing anything other than the specified issues.

Who Judges the Moot?

Your moot supervisor and one or two additional judges who are faculty or practitioners
will act as judges at the oral argument and will evaluate your factum and oral argument.
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Each student participant is required to bring a copy of the evaluation form to the
oral argument for the judges to fill out. A copy of the evaluation form is included with
these materials.

We encourage you to take this opportunity to get to know the judges for your moot. The
judges often invite you out after your arguments for refreshments. We encourage you to
take them up on this offer.

But I Have More Questions!

Do not panic. Read the rest of these materials and, chances are, your questions will be
answered.

Students who have further questions, concerns or comments may contact the Moot
Program Co-ordinator: Brian Radnoff, at 416-777-4046 or bradnoff@dickinsonwright.com.
 Upper Year Moot Rules
General

1. All moot problems are on appeal to the Moot Court of Flavelle. The Moot Court of
Flavelle is a Canadian court, but is a superior court to the Supreme Court of
Canada. Consequently, the Moot Court of Flavelle is not bound by any Canadian
decision, although such decisions are persuasive.

Factums

1. Subject to the exceptions listed below, all factums must comply with the relevant
Ontario Court Rules. Excerpts of the relevant rules are provided in this material.
Note that format and page length requirements will be strictly enforced, and
students who do not comply with these requirements will fail the moot.

2. Parts I to V of the factum shall not exceed 20 pages.

3. Quotations and case citations shall be single-spaced.

4. Students are not required to have backsheets or use factum paper.

5. Covers do not need to be on coloured paper.

6. No book of authorities is required.

7. The appellants’ final factum must be e-mailed to the moot supervisor, respondents
and the judges prior to 10 a.m. on January 20, 2023. E-mail addresses will be
provided to the students. It is recommended that factums be e-mailed in Word or
.pdf format. Students who do not deliver their factums by this time will fail.

8. The respondents’ final factum must be e-mailed to the moot supervisor, appellants
and the judges prior to 10 a.m. on January 25, 2023. E-mail addresses will be
provided to the students. It is recommended that factums be e-mailed in Word or
.pdf format. Students who do not deliver their factums by this time will fail.

Oral Argument

1. Students are required to be at their oral argument at least five minutes before the
official start time (5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.).

2. Each student is limited to twenty minutes for oral argument.

3. A brief reply of no longer than two minutes is permitted at the option of the
Appellants.

4. Students may not raise cases in oral argument that are not referred to in their
factum.
 Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation will be done by consensus among the judges. After the oral argument is
completed (and either before or after comments are provided by the judges), mooters
should be excused from the room so that the judges may reach a consensus and
complete the evaluation form, included with these materials. One evaluation form is
completed for each mooter. The team members should inform the judges prior to the oral
argument how the factum is to be marked: either as a team, or individually based on the
issue each student argues.

Evaluation is on an honours/pass/fail basis for pre-September, 2012, students and a

credit/no credit basis for students who entered law school from September, 2012.
Students will be evaluated on the overall quality of their factum and oral argument
together. In order for a student to obtain an overall pass, the student must complete a
factum and oral argument that are independently worthy of a passing grade. In other
words, students should note that doing very well in the oral argument will not be sufficient
to pass the upper year moot if the factum is not of sufficient quality to pass the course.
Normally, students have no difficulty passing the oral advocacy portion of the exercise,
but this is not sufficient to pass the course. On the other hand, students will typically have
varying degrees of comfort with public speaking. By basing the evaluation on the overall
legal presentation, mooters will have some flexibility to work to their strengths.

Listed below are criteria the judges will consider when determining a student’s mark.

Factum Criteria

- Recitation of and use of facts to strengthen argument

- Quality and persuasiveness of argument
- Candor and fairness of facts & argument
- Effective use of legal authority
- Quality of legal research
- Presentation, organization and conciseness
- Use of proper formatting/adhering to moot rules

Oral Argument Criteria

- Familiarity with the facts

- Familiarity with the law
- Quality of responses to questions/ability to incorporate questions into submissions
- Quality of presentation (pace, mannerisms, eye contact, etc.)
- Use of time/ability to address all important issues
- Logic and persuasiveness of presentation
- Candor and fairness of presentation
 2022-2023 Upper Year Moot Evaluation Form

Mooter:

Judges:

Date:

Credit / No Credit

(Please circle one)

This evaluation form should be returned to the Records Office via email
(records.law@utoronto.ca ) by the moot supervisor THE DAY FOLLOWING THE MOOT.

Evaluation will be done by consensus among the judges. After the oral argument is
completed (and either before or after comments are provided by the judges), mooters
should be excused from the room so that the judges can reach a consensus and complete
the evaluation form, included with these materials. One evaluation form must be
completed for each mooter. Mooters are assigned one mark on the basis of their factum
and oral argument. The team members should be asked prior to the oral argument how
the factum is to be marked: either as a team, or individually based on the issue each
student argues. Students will be given one grade on the basis of the overall quality of
their factum and oral argument. In order for a student to obtain an overall pass, the
student must complete a factum and oral argument that independently are worthy of a
passing grade. In other words, students should note that doing very well in the oral
argument will not be sufficient to pass the upper year moot if the factum is not of sufficient
quality to pass the course. Normally, students have no difficulty passing the oral
advocacy portion of the exercise, but this is not sufficient to pass the course. On the other
hand, students will typically have varying degrees of comfort with public speaking. By
basing the evaluation on the overall legal presentation, mooters will have some flexibility
to work to their strengths.

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