The Qualifying Round is the first round in the upper-level Ames Competition. All second-year students (or joint degree students currently enrolled in their first year of post-1L law school courses) are eligible to join. Teams of four students may register here.  Students who have incomplete teams and would like the BSA to find individuals to complete their team for them should fill out the competitor matching worksheet here.

The official rules and schedule for this year’s competition are below. The grading rubric will be posted when the record is distributed on September 11th, 2019.

Schedule | Rules

The PowerPoint from the information session on September 5th, 2019 (highlighting the schedule and important rules to note) can be found here.

Please contact ameshls@gmail.com with any questions. Questions that are relevant to all participants will be posted below.

How are the briefs evaluated?

We will send a rubric out with the record. This is the rubric the BSAs see when they grade the first round of Q-Round briefs. Rely on the rubric to decide where you should spend your time while preparing your brief.

Are we allowed to consult with past Ames briefs that are publicly available once the record is released?

Yes. Some example briefs from the 2018 Ames Competition can be found below:

Appellant:
Team 34 Appellant Brief
Team 39A Appellant Brief
Team 30 – Appellant Brief
Team 29 Appellant Brief

Appellee:
Team 34 Appellee Brief for Team 17
Team 34 Appellee Brief for Team 33
Team 39B Appellee Brief for Team 31A
Team 39B Appellee Brief for Team 24A
TEAM 30 APPELLEE BRIEF for Team 3
TEAM 30 APPELLEE BRIEF for Team 28
Team 29 Appellee Brief for Team 30
Team 29 Appellee Brief for Team 27

I just wanted to verify that, to receive writing credit, members of my team need only to submit this form to the Dean of Students:  https://hls.harvard.edu/content/uploads/2018/08/Option-2-form_2018-2019.pdf. 

If you advance to the second round of Q Round, then yes, DOS will sign this form and the requirement will be met. If you do not advance, you will need to write a second brief, which you can send to ameshls@gmail.com. The Q Round graders will then ensure that a good faith effort was made, and forward approval to DOS.