Law schools acquire reputations for success in various areas. Overall, it seems that Harvard and Yale take turns holding the top ranking in "U.S. News and World Report." That same magazine ranks the Vermont Law School as having the best environmental law program, and top-law-schools.com says UCLA has perhaps the best entertainment law program.
Rankings are subjective and change based on the weight given to various factors. There is little doubt, however, that Florida State University College of Law has the best Moot Court Program in the country for 2010.
The Moot Court team has gone on a run of amazing success. Many of my friends are winning national championships, and I hope they do not mind me bragging on them here (If they see this blog entry but do not want their name returning a Google hit, they can Facebook me and I'll take it down).
The Moot Court team has won four national competitions in 2010:
Steven Muscatello and Ana Barton won a Religious Freedom Law Competition in Washington, DC, beating Duke Law school in the final round.
Mike Redondo and Andrew Grogan won a National Security Law Competition in Washington, DC, beating Cornell in the final round. James Woolsey, former CIA Director, sat as a judge on the panel for the final round.
This weekend, Jennifer Gutai, Rebecca Swindull and Lauren Davis won a Family Law competition in Albany, NY.
Also this weekend, Tiffany Roddenberry and Yordanka Nedyalkova won a Civil Rights Law Competition in Washington, DC. Yordanka won best oralist, Tiffany got second best oralist and their brief placed second for the Best Brief Award.
Rounding out this weekend, Thomas Philpot and Holly Griffin were finalists at a Constitutional Law competition in Chapel Hill, NC.
Earlier this semester, Emily Whelchel and Patrick Bennett made the semifinals of a Constitutional Law competition in Charleston, SC. They also won the Best Brief Award at this competition.
I venture to say that no other law school in the country can match the success that the FSU Moot Court Team has enjoyed this year. They are a clear #1. The trophy case is overflowing.
I am only an outsider looking in at our program, so I can't say what the secret is for their success besides bright students and hard work. I know that Professor Nat Stern puts in a lot of time to get these students ready for competition, and I've seen the students first hand at the law school library struggling over their briefs and working out their arguments.
Tryouts for the team are in April. Tryouts were a great experience for me last year, though I did not make the team. Obviously, they picked a good group. I encourage all the first year students to give it a go and see if you have what it takes to join the best Moot Court Program in the nation.
Check out the public radio news report on the team at http://www.fsu.com/Radio-News/Florida-State-moot-court-team-sweeping-national-stage
-Nathan Marshburn
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Benefits of Making the Mock Trial Team
Next week, the FSU College of Law Mock Trial Team will hold its annual tryouts. The Mock Trial Team is one of what I call the "Big Three" extracurricular activities a student may do while in law school. The other two are Law Review and the Moot Court Team. Being asked to join any of these three groups is a big deal and a significant boost to your resume.
Law Review and the Moot Court Team are somewhat more prestigious than the Mock Trial Team, at least at Florida State Law, but I would argue that the Mock Trial Team is the most practical organization to join in terms of helping you develop skills that you will actually use in practice.
While Moot Court prepares you well for appellate law, this is a relatively small niche. Very few lawyers actually end up doing appeals work.
Mock Trial, on the other hand, prepares you to successfully conduct trials, and there are more job opportunities for trial work (litigation) than most areas of law.
I made the Mock Trial Team in January of last year. From my personal experiences, I can say that being on the team has helped me with my confidence in public speaking and in developing my abilities to persuade others in a courtroom setting. I've gotten great practice in questioning witnesses who will not cooperate and give me the answers I expect, and I've improved my ability to recognize when to object to another lawyer's technique or strategy in the courtroom. This experience has given me a leg up over other students who will be put in a trial setting for the first time in their lives only after they have graduated from law school.
The Mock Trial Team also affords you the opportunity to meet established litigators and judges in the legal community. These individuals come to the law school to coach our team and provide instruction to us on what techniques they believe are effective. They also serve as possible references and employers for you.
As a member of the Mock Trial Team, when I graduate I will have the confidence to walk into any litigation firm in Florida, no matter how large, with a copy of my resume and say, "Hello, my name is Nathan Marshburn. I am a graduate of Florida State Law, and I want to work for you."
I hope by the time that I graduate, I will have the ability to listen to anyone on the street about their possible legal case, make a good decision about whether or not to take the case, and then be able to move the case from start to finish in a trial with a successful outcome. This goal is still a work in progress, and in all likelihood I will need substantial real world experience to reach this level of competency. My work with the Mock Trial Team, however, has moved me toward that goal at a much faster rate.
Even if you do not want to practice in a courtroom, the Mock Trial Team eliminates the fear of other litigators. You learn what we are about, what goes on in a courtroom, and what we can and can't do in front of a jury. So, when the other side threatens to go to trial, there is not so much of the unknown involved. You can make a better business decision for your client.
There are few negatives associated with trying out for the Mock Trial Team. Even if you do not make the team (and most students will not), it is a great challenge and public speaking experience. I encourage all law school students to give this organization a shot.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Law Review and the Moot Court Team are somewhat more prestigious than the Mock Trial Team, at least at Florida State Law, but I would argue that the Mock Trial Team is the most practical organization to join in terms of helping you develop skills that you will actually use in practice.
While Moot Court prepares you well for appellate law, this is a relatively small niche. Very few lawyers actually end up doing appeals work.
Mock Trial, on the other hand, prepares you to successfully conduct trials, and there are more job opportunities for trial work (litigation) than most areas of law.
I made the Mock Trial Team in January of last year. From my personal experiences, I can say that being on the team has helped me with my confidence in public speaking and in developing my abilities to persuade others in a courtroom setting. I've gotten great practice in questioning witnesses who will not cooperate and give me the answers I expect, and I've improved my ability to recognize when to object to another lawyer's technique or strategy in the courtroom. This experience has given me a leg up over other students who will be put in a trial setting for the first time in their lives only after they have graduated from law school.
The Mock Trial Team also affords you the opportunity to meet established litigators and judges in the legal community. These individuals come to the law school to coach our team and provide instruction to us on what techniques they believe are effective. They also serve as possible references and employers for you.
As a member of the Mock Trial Team, when I graduate I will have the confidence to walk into any litigation firm in Florida, no matter how large, with a copy of my resume and say, "Hello, my name is Nathan Marshburn. I am a graduate of Florida State Law, and I want to work for you."
I hope by the time that I graduate, I will have the ability to listen to anyone on the street about their possible legal case, make a good decision about whether or not to take the case, and then be able to move the case from start to finish in a trial with a successful outcome. This goal is still a work in progress, and in all likelihood I will need substantial real world experience to reach this level of competency. My work with the Mock Trial Team, however, has moved me toward that goal at a much faster rate.
Even if you do not want to practice in a courtroom, the Mock Trial Team eliminates the fear of other litigators. You learn what we are about, what goes on in a courtroom, and what we can and can't do in front of a jury. So, when the other side threatens to go to trial, there is not so much of the unknown involved. You can make a better business decision for your client.
There are few negatives associated with trying out for the Mock Trial Team. Even if you do not make the team (and most students will not), it is a great challenge and public speaking experience. I encourage all law school students to give this organization a shot.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
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