Art Auction to benefitVI Bar Association Moot Court

This art auction is to benefit the VI Bar Association’s Moot Court Competition. Each year, the VI Bar Association arranges a Moot Court, or a mock proceeding set up to examine a hypothetical case, as an academic exercise. This competition is for the territory’s high schoolers, grades 9-12. After 6 months of preparation with attorney coaches, oral arguments are presented and the students compete over two days.

The program’s learning objectives are simple and direct. With the support of attorney and faculty coaches, the students are given the opportunity to learn to speak publicly and to employ their critical thinking skills to both plan a logical argument in advance founded in law and fact as well as to employ those same critical thinking skills actively, in real time, when responding to questioning.
By participating in the competition, students learn critical thinking and analysis, organizing of thoughts and speeches, how to respond in real time, and more.

Through hosting such a competition, the VIBA seeks to increase community understanding of the judicial process and governmental operation, increase citizens’ awareness of the roles of a lawyer and a judge, promote the community’s awareness of current issues in the law, promote the study of the law, provide the opportunity to develop and advance public speaking and advocacy skills, improve community perceptions of the legal profession and lawyers, and provide financial education assistance to students.