Liberty Law places second in national moot court competition in Houston

Liberty University School of Law Moot Court placed second at the 2025 Hicks Thomas Moot Court National Championship held Jan. 23–25 at the United States District Courthouse in Houston, Texas. The success at this tournament continues Liberty Law’s strong performance in moot court this academic year; Liberty Law’s Moot Court program finished the fall semester ranked as the no. 1 moot court program in the nation by the Blakely Advocacy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center.

The tournament, hosted by University of Houston Law Center, invited the top 16 moot court programs in the country to compete for the championship title based on accumulative point totals from the 2023-24 academic year.

Liberty Law 2Ls Nikolay Michalowskij and Alexandra Walsh were selected to represent the school on the national stage in Houston. The pair beat teams from George Washington University, the University of Texas, the University of Minnesota, Southern Methodist University, the University of Miami, and the University of Georgia. Their only loss came in the final round, on a very close ballot, to Seton Hall University.

“It was really exciting to represent the school and our team because moot court is such a team effort,” Walsh said. “We wanted to represent not just Liberty but also the moot court board that helped us get to this competition, because it’s based on last year’s performance.”

Perhaps the most incredible part of the pair’s success was that this was their first intercollegiate competition. Professor of Law Scott Thompson, who coaches the team, said they were chosen based on their performance in internal competitions at Liberty Law.

“One of the biggest compliments that we got from the competitors and their coaches at the awards banquet was when they found out this was the students’ very first tournament; they said making it to the national championship round really is an amazing accomplishment,” he said. “We knew they were both very talented, and we just have to make our best predictions on who is going to work well together. Obviously on this one, we made a good choice.”

Michalowskij and Walsh presented oral arguments surrounding a university policy stating the school would not intervene when student protesters heckle a guest speaker. The pair had to switch between on-brief and off-brief (arguing both sides of the case) and take up two motions: whether the action was a violation of the First Amendment and whether the university followed civil procedure in filing a timely motion.

“I have to compartmentalize,” Michalowskij said, explaining how he manages to jump back and forth between arguments. “I memorize the on-brief issue as well as I can, know it as thoroughly as I possibly can, anticipate the objections, and I put it in a little (mental) box, and then I switch over to the off-brief side. . . . There’s some cognitive dissonance there; you’re holding two contradictory opinions at the same time, so the more I can separate them the better.”

Though they prepared for months, including submitting a brief in November for preliminary rounds, Walsh gave credit to God for their success.

“Our performance came from God speaking through us,” she said. “Christ gave us these abilities. All of that goes back to Him; it’s not something that we do on our own.”

Michalowskij said their focus on Christ reminded him to stay humble and remember the many people who assisted and encouraged them. The Moot Court Board gave the team care packages before they left, and the board was waiting for the pair at the airport, along with School of Law Dean Timothy Todd, to welcome them back home.

“I think there is very much a temptation with those in the legal field to feel prideful and feel like everything is coming internally. But focusing on Christ and praying before rounds kept me humble, kept me grounded, and it really helped me appreciate that this was not an individual effort,” Michalowskij said. “The brilliant coaches who helped us through the whole thing, our teammates on the Moot Court Board who took time out of their day to help us practice — that was something self-sacrificial they were doing for us, and that’s how they were imaging Christ.”

Thompson said he was proud of how the students conducted themselves during the weekend.

“They glorified God with their conduct and demeanor throughout the tournament. They never got angry, and they never got frustrated. There’s a lot of stress in these events, but they handled it all extremely well. The students were exemplary examples of what it means to be a Christian lawyer and a law student from Liberty University.”

Because parts of the competition took place in a real courtroom with seasoned judges, the team received valuable hands-on practice for their future careers. Despite Walsh having no legal background prior to law school, as she was originally a dancer and dreamed of opening her own studio, participating in moot court has unlocked an interest for appellate advocacy. Michalowskij hopes to pursue constitutional law after he graduates.

Both students said the competition will enhance their résumés and provide proof of their excellent performance as lawyers. They emphasized that the Center for Lawyering Skills at Liberty Law provided them the necessary training, tools, and resources to perform at a top level.

“Liberty Law very much focuses on the practical in a lot of ways,” Michalowskij said. “The school focuses on hiring teachers who have practice in those fields so they can pass on that experience. I’m so grateful.”

For 20 years, Liberty University School of Law has Trained Champions for Christ to enter their careers as practice-ready attorneys and legal professionals. With an innovative Lawyering Skills Program, Liberty Law is modeling for the academic world how to equip students to pursue excellence in their field while maintaining a commitment to biblical values. Liberty Law offers a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) with 12 areas of study; Juris Master (J.M.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) programs are offered online.