First off, do not be discouraged! I did not make my school’s Moot Court Board 1L year and went on to win (with my partner) a moot court competition 2L year, place as semi-finalists in a regional moot court competition with my team 3L year, and win third place brief (out of 20). My teammates and I also received a graduation award for oral advocacy. So, there is still moot court hope for you after not making moot court your 1L year. Here are three things you can do if you find yourself in this boat.
1. Evaluate what went wrong and how you can improve. Then improve!
In addition to reviewing the score sheets from the judges (yes, actually look at these in their entirety before throwing them in the trash out of anger/disappoint/whatever strong emotion you may be feeling), do a personal reflection of your performance. Did you get nervous and stumble while giving your answers? Did you adequately prepare and practice? Were your legal arguments sound? How did you do maintaining your composure when you got flustered? These (and other) questions may not be the easiest to answer, but they are important to answer. Make sure you take time to honestly and objectively reflect on your performance without condemning yourself or putting yourself down. Remember, this was an opportunity for you to learn how to improve, and does not reflect on your ultimate ability to practice law. You still have another two years of learning and growing to do, and God can help you get there if you ask Him! 🙂 Also try reading my previous blog post with moot court competition tips if you haven’t already here.
2. Sign up for other moot court competitions at your school.
This is how I was able to join my school’s Moot Court Board 2L year. Check with your law school, but at my school, for example, students were able to compete in intra-school moot court competitions open only to students from the school, whether they were on the school’s moot court team or not. Plus, a percentage of competitors who scored high enough were eligible for membership on the school’s moot court team. These competitions often have a lot less competitors than the (usually mandatory) 1L-wide moot court competition, it is limited to a certain area of law you may be more interested in, and by now you have a better idea of what to work on and what to expect, so you have much greater odds of moot court competition success!
3. Sign up for moot court competitions open to students outside of your school.
Sometimes you can compete in external moot court competitions even if you are not on your school’s official moot court team. Much like the above point, at some schools, you can petition to join the school’s moot court team if you perform well at an external moot court competition. And, these competitions are great experience to list on your resume as they show employers that you possess a certain level of skill, dedication, and knowledge to successfully compete in an external moot court competition. Ask around at your law school, student organizations, or do a search on Google for moot court competitions you could look into. For example, the American Bar Association offers the First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition, and the National Black Law Students Association offers the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition.
As you can see, there is still moot court hope for you yet before you graduate law school!
You can also contact me to book a clarity call if you’d like to discuss getting personalized one-on-one help with improving your oral advocacy!
Grace for the Grind™ Career Mastermind is a FREE private online community for Christian women lawyers, law students, pre-law students and young professionals who want less stress and more of God’s grace for the professional grind. You can learn more about Grace for the Grind and join for free at https://app.graceforthegrind.com!
