WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Students representing 53 law schools from across the United States will participate in the 13th annual National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace Law School from Feb. 22-24. The final round of competition will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24, from 2-4 p.m., in the Moot Court Room, 78 N. Broadway, in White Plains. The public is invited to attend.

"The National Environmental Moot Court Competition conducted by Pace Law School is a world-class event that draws the finest student advocates from around the country to our campus to grapple with very real environmental issues before discerning judges," said Pace law Professor Ann Powers, faculty advisor to the competition. "It is an educational experience for all involved, and we are proud to sponsor it."

Prior to the competition student teams will have prepared written briefs on a hypothetical case involving an environmental violation. The event will test the oral and written advocacy skills of law students in appellate court litigation and will provide participants with an opportunity to experience environmental litigation first hand. During the competition each team will defend its position before a panel of judges. The team with the highest combined scores for both the oral argument and written bri

Preliminary rounds begin on Thursday, Feb. 22. The 36 top-scoring teams will advance to the quarterfinals, and then the nine highest scoring teams will advance to the semifinals. The leading three teams will compete in the final round.

Presiding justices at the final round of arguments will include the Honorable Fortunato Benavides, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Honorable Scott C. Fulton, Judge, United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Honorable Renato Martins Mimessi, Chief Justice, Rondônia Court of Appeals, Brazil.

"The National Environmental Moot Court Competition portends an exciting future for environmental advocacy in America by providing the country's finest environmental law students with an opportunity to demonstrate their outstanding intellectual talents," said David Cohen, dean of Pace Law School.

The competition is sponsored by the Center for Environmental Legal Studies at Pace Law School, the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C., and Texaco Inc.