Our Crowdfunding Groups
While OUTLaws' group membership has increased over the past few years, its funding has decreased. OUTLaws has been hosting fundraisers to make up the deficit in the budget in order to send two teams to represent the University of Oregon School of Law at the national LGBTQIA moot court competition.
We have submitted our briefs. We are scheduling our practice rounds. We will spend hours preparing for oral arguments. We need your help getting us there!
Our goal is to raise $2,500 to cover the cost of flights, hotel, and other necessary transportation. We are doing lots of fundraising and anything we make over our goal will go towards sending a team next year!
Meet the competitors! Check out our bios!
OUTLaws is the University of Oregon School of Law's LGBTQIA student organization. OUTLaws is an educational, political, and social alliance of law students interested in working with their University and the surrounding community toward fostering and maintaining an environment that is supportive, positive, and safe for individuals of sexual and gender diversity. In striving for a greater understanding of sexuality and gender issues at the law school and within the affiliated communities, OUTLaws aims to address the legal issues associated with sexual and gender diversity and provide resources and support for social activism.
OUTLaws has historically participated in the Williams Institute Moot Court Competition and has recently started this tradition again with the goals of fostering a more inclusive environment for LGBTQIA students at the law school. For the past two years OUTLaws has sent one team to compete. This year, with more members, and more interest, it will send two teams to compete. This includes the teams' coach, Emily Farrell, and a 1L observer, Sarah Osborn.
From the Williams Institute's website:
Overview
The Williams Institute hosts the only national moot court competition dedicated exclusively to the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity law. Now in its 15th year, the competition provides an opportunity for competitors to write an appellate brief on a current legal topic and to argue the case before a panel of judges. The competition is designed to promote and recognize the finest oral and written advocacy on a significant problem in sexual orientation and gender identity law.
Upcoming Competition
The upcoming competition will take place over two days in the spring of 2019. Four rounds of arguments (two preliminary rounds, quarter-finals and semi-finals) will take place on Saturday, March 23, 2019.
During the preliminary rounds, each team is guaranteed a minimum of two rounds of oral argument. Scoring for the preliminary rounds will be based on the written brief and both rounds of oral argument. The top eight teams will advance to the quarter-finals, and from there, the top four teams will move on to the semi-finals, with the two highest scoring teams invited to compete in the final round. Scoring in the quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds will be based only on oral argument.
At this level you cover the cost of flying our team down to Los Angeles!
