The Osgoode Cup

The Osgoode Cup will return March 2025.

The Osgoode Cup is Canada’s largest and longest-running undergraduate mooting competition.

Since 2005, hundreds of undergraduate students from across the country have competed for Canada’s most esteemed undergraduate mooting championship while also getting the chance to network with legal professionals and learn about a career in law and legal advocacy. The Osgoode Cup is hosted yearly on the first weekend of March at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Ontario.

Participants compete in pairs of two presenting on behalf of either the appellant or the respondent in a real case from the Supreme Court of Canada or a provincial appellate court in front of a panel of judges comprised of real lawyers, law students and legal professionals. Unlike mock trial, the facts are not in dispute and there are no witnesses or examinations. Mooters are judged on their understanding of the law, oral advocacy and ability to answer impromptu questions from the bench.

On Day 2 the top 16 teams advance to a bracket-style knockout round with the winning team crowned Osgoode Cup champions. All members of the top 16 receive take-home trophies, along with the tournament’s top individual scorers, known as “distinguished advocates”.

The Osgoode Cup provides many benefits for participants. It provides students with public speaking and presentation experiences and a chance to try out oral advocacy in a comfortable yet realistic legal setting. On top of building friendships among teammates, mooters also get to meet with other students from universities and colleges across Canada and speak with current law students, practitioners, law professors and real judges over the course of the weekend. Undergraduate mooting – and especially the Osgoode Cup – is an imperative resume builder and vital experience for anyone interested in the legal field or law school in the future.

The Osgoode Cup was founded in 2005. Today, the Osgoode Cup Leadership Team is headed by Andrew Monkhouse – an Osgoode Hall graduate and founder of Monkhouse Law Employment Lawyers in Toronto – along with a team of Osgoode Hall Law School student volunteers who are Osgoode Cup alumni and distinguished leaders among Canada’s undergraduate mooting community.

For any questions or how to get involved as a student, judge or sponsor, please don’t hesitate to email us at theosgoodecup@gmail.com.

Sponsors

Want to get your message out to hundreds of law students and legal professionals from across Canada? Check out our sponsorships page here.