Law Review and Moot Court

As the semester (and year) wind down, the tension mounts. Today we heard from the law review editors about how we can qualify for law review. The good news is that I do not get an automatic invitation. Those invitations are reserved for the top 15% of the class, and I am in the top 20%. While I would hope to move up some in my ranking, a 5% jump would be miraculous, to say the least. So, if I want to pursue a position on law review, I will have to apply via a “write on” campaign where all of the students are given a legal problem for briefing and a short amount of time to research and submit same. This occurs immediately after final exams, so I’ll have to postpone my “summer of vegetation” until after the paper is written. During those few weeks I will probably find myself busy with the “write on” paper...as well as transfer applications to a few other law schools. My goal is to (1) transfer to another school (a higher-ranking school); or, (2) in the alternative, make the most of my experience here. In light of both of those goals, my GPA cannot slip; and, in fact, needs to climb. (Yes, that's a prayer request; make a note of it.)

For the past month we have been researching and writing a summary judgment brief for our “client.” The brief was due about two weeks ago. Then, last week, we argued our brief before a three-judge panel in a wonderful law school rite of passage called “moot court.” On Monday we argued “on brief,” and on Wednesday we argued “off brief.” We were graded in groupings of four based on a random selection process. Those who did the best from their foursome moved on to the semi-final rounds on Friday.

I have admitted to no fewer than all of my friends and the clerk at Kroger’s that Monday was not a good day for me in moot court. I woefully underestimated the amount of preparation it would require; and, when I realized this, my alternate plan was to stick my head in the sand and pretend like it wasn’t happening. My summary of Monday's moot court experience: Ugh! However, once I cleaned up the wounds from Monday, I bounced back on Wednesday and made a stellar appearance in moot court when arguing “off brief” (i.e., the other side’s position).

I’ll spare you anymore suspense and admit that I did not advance to the semi-finals on Friday. For an overachiever like me, that was quite a hard pill to swallow (especially considering the pool of orators who did advance), but I have shouldered the blame and tried to learn from the experience. Well, yesterday we received our score sheets from the moot court rounds on Monday and Wednesday. We were scored based on the following criteria:
Ø effectiveness of opening and closing statements
Ø knowledge of the brief, the record, the authority cited, and the issues/arguments raised
Ø the substantive content of the argument, e.g., order of presentation of points, emphasis of points, and time management
Ø ability to answer questions, to think on our feet, and to resume thread of argument after interruption
Ø ability to speak without notes or w/ unobtrusive notes, use of speaking voice, poise, gestures, mannerisms, and courtroom etiquette

Each judge provided a score as well as a “ranking” for each speaker within the foursome. On Monday (the day that I “bombed”), my rankings were 1-1-4. That means that two judges ranked my argument as the #1 argument of the foursome! While, the remaining judge (who presumably was smoking crack), ranked me as #4.

During “off brief” Wednesday (before a different panel of judges), my rankings were 2-3-3. What! But, I was stellar on Wednesday! In all humility, I rocked! So, why the low rankings? Because, we not only had a different panel of judges, but we were also shuffled into a different foursome; and my foursome on Wednesday had some awesome speakers, one of whom advanced to Friday’s semi-final round.

Even though my rankings were lower on Wednesday, my “scores” were much higher. The scores from Monday were an embarrassing 56, 55.5, and 72 (of 100) (yet somehow I was 1-1-4?). On Wednesday, my scores were much better (83, 64.5, and 70) even though my rankings were lower.

The good news is that all of this means nothing when it comes to the grade for this assignment, which is yet to be posted. The rankings and scores are only used for the moot court competition.

Just thought I’d share a little “minutia” of the typical week of law school. Like I said, we are winding down. There are two more projects in the works—both due next week. Meanwhile, I’m trying to squeeze in an extra hour per day to study for finals. My steady diet now is a double shot of mocha latte for breakfast and as a midnight snack. Try to be in bed by 1:00 a.m. and up by 5:00 a.m. There’s no time to exercise or shop or wash clothes. Those few extra minutes that may materialize during the course of the day are reserved for sleep….and, today, blog therapy.