The final rounds of the 2024-2025 Florida Bar High School Appellate Brief Writing & Moot Court Competition were held in Tallahassee April 1-2, 2025. The competition is conducted by The Florida Bar Law Related Education Committee and Appellate Practice Section of The Florida Bar. The two-part program offers a unique opportunity to learn about the appellate process and what it is like to present a case in a true-to-life court experience. Students participating in the competition wrote briefs on a fictitious case involving seizure and evidentiary standards, which were graded by practicing attorneys, and teams were invited to present oral arguments in the Semifinal Round before appellate judges of the First District Court of Appeal on April 1. A statewide Final Round between the top two teams was held at the Florida Supreme Court on April 2.
FINAL ROUND
The winner of the Final Round and State Champion of this year’s Florida Bar High School Appellate Brief Writing and Moot Court Competition was the team of Katerine Fateev and Jonathan Schwartz from American Heritage High School – Broward. With assistance from school sponsor Nikki Laurie and attorney coach Laura Burkhalter, the team was judged the best in Florida by all seven Florida Supreme Court Justices.
Also recognized were the second place winners, Ethan Williams and Zoe Priolo, from Bell Creek Academy. Fateev was recognized as the Best Oralist in the Final Round.
SEMIFINAL ROUND
Competing in this round were two student teams from each of the following high schools:
American Heritage High School – Broward County
Beachside High School – St. Johns County
Bell Creek Academy – Hillsborough County
Taylor County High School – Taylor County
Hialeah Gardens High School – Miami-Dade County
William R. Boone High School – Orange County
Two awards were given in the Semifinal Round. The Best Brief award was presented to Fateev and Schwartz from American Heritage High School – Broward. Fateev also received the award for the Best Oralist in this round.
The Florida Bar High School Appellate Brief Writing and Moot Court Competition program is designed to provide students the opportunity to learn critical thinking skills, legal reasoning, analysis, and professionalism, in addition to the structure and function of the courts and legal process.
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