Mock Trial and Moot Court Excellence

In law school, there are any number of extracurricular organizations that can boost your resume and lead to job offers. At Florida State Law, arguably the most important three are Law Review, the Moot Court Team, and the Mock Trial Team.

But a student can not simply sign up for one or all of these organizations. Law Review has a "write-on" competition where students submit briefs or memorandums and hope to be selected. A student may also submit a paper of quality to the Law Review. If the editorial staff decides to publish the paper, then that student is also extended an invitation to become a member. The Moot Court and Mock Trial Teams each have their own tryout process to choose new members as well.

The FSU Moot Court Team has enjoyed quite a bit of success in recent competitions, and now the FSU Mock Trial Team can add to the trophy case with them. Last weekend, Mock Trial Team members Thomas Philpot, Ryan Hoyle, Eliott Smith, and Matt Minnick won the Earle Zehmer Mock Trial Competition in Tampa. Their success comes on the heels of a finals appearance by another group of four from the Mock Trial Team at the American Bar Association Mock Trial Tournament in Miami. This semester, we also had teams reach the semifinals at the Lone Star Competition in San Antonio and the Buffalo-Niagara Competition in Buffalo, NY.

As for the Moot Court Team, on November 10th I was privileged to see a second Final Four Competition at the Florida Supreme Court. In this competition, the top four new members of the team go against each other in front of the Justices of the Florida Supreme Court.

I remember last year how nervous I felt walking into the chamber, and I was not even the one competing. All the people, the high ceiling, the plush carpet, and the oil canvass paintings lining the walls seemed pretty intimidating. I wrote an entry about that experience back on November 14 of last year. This time around, I was more accustomed to the room and the presence of the justices, but I still felt nervous for my friends who were competing.

They all did great. Tara Klimek, who won the best advocate award earlier this semester at the Wayne Hogan Mock Trial Intramural Competition, also took home the prize for the best advocate here. Tara is the only person during my three years at FSU Law to be selected for the Moot Court Team, the Mock Trial Team, and Law Review. She is a real all-star.

The competition was close. Alexandra Haddad, Jourdan Neal, and Molly Drake gave memorable arguments before the justices. I enjoyed listening to them. Two of my friends (and competitors from last year), Tiffany Roddenberry and Brian Bohm, served as the principal coaches. Tiffany and Brian did a great job of preparing the four students for the experience.

It's nice to be in a place where I am surrounded by so many bright, talented, and friendly people.

*As usual, if I have used your name in this entry and you don't want it returning a hit on the Internet, please let me know and I will remove it.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn