5 minute read
Mood to Moot 2.0
from Obiter | Issue Three
T H E B E G I N N I N G
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As every avid fan of Judge Judy, the idea of being part of a mock court trial always got me ' edge of the seat' excited. I have always had a penchant for public speaking, debates, and most importantly theatrics!
For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, 'Moot' in the context of law school, mooting is the process of going through a mock court experience with solicitors, plaintiffs, evidence, and judges. All of which correlates to a hypothetical case established to set the courtroom experience. The moot is divided into multiple rounds depending on the number of teams and under each round you prepare for both sides of the case with different teams.
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to take part in my first ever moot competition. Namely, Dictum Society ' s Junior Moot. The experience of which, I shared in the previous issue of the Obiter (So if you haven 't had the opportunity to venture through our previous publishments,
here ' s your chance!)
T H E B I G M O O T
This time around, in the month of September my best friends (now ' co-
counsels ') and I took on the task of participating in the Dictum Society Senior Moot 2021. With previous mooting experience under our belts, we definitely felt more prepared to put our skills (and dare I make a pun!) on trial.
T H E E X P E R I E N C E
In terms of experience the Senior Moot was most definitely more intimidating and hectic and I do not say that lightly. The concepts to apply (in our case Contract law) while straightforward required a lot more succinct and refined application. But the tips and tricks we learnt in the process of participating in each round were absolutely invaluable. After each round you simply gain more and more confidence in your ability to moot your way to the finish line!
T I P S & T R I C K S
From our Junior Moot venture a significant takeaway was the need to simplify our arguments rather than trying to bombard the judges with points on points with no definite direction.
We simplified the case by breaking it down in parts and focusing on the guiding questions provided in the facts of the Senior Moot competition.
In terms of preparing for the big moot itself, the first round was really just trial and error. We prepped talking points by paraphrasing our memorandum and practiced our ability to orate while keeping time. This however, was later concluded to be the road most travelled yet the least effective getting your argument to its destination. Fellow VU Alumni and our Senior Moot Judge, Kurt Cauchi gave us some hard-hitting yet golden advice.
Instead of using the written memorandum as a guide for oration, he recommended us to narrow down our arguments into one-line points to avoid sounding like you ' re reading off a script. We applied this principle while arguing for the oppossing client, we instead practiced on improvising and thinking on our feet. This took us from 0 to 100 in terms of the application of the facts, principles, and arguments,
“I realised that if you argue with unwavering confidence and surety, 90% of the argument has already been made ” .
responding to cross questioning by Judges, and most importantly CONFIDENCE!
This brings me to the next and in my opinion the numero uno requirement for getting through a moot competition successfully...Humble confidence!
The one thing I learnt over the course of mooting is that if you argue with unwavering confidence and surety, 90% of the argument has already been made. Many of our points had holes that could prove detrimental to our case. However, we tried our best to accept anything we say and put before the Court as the only truth in the matter.
Emulating such confidence also helped in thinking clearheadedly when answeriing questions.
The last but not the least of what the Senior Moot has taught me is that its about the journey and not the destination. When you take it out of your head that the moot will either make you a winner or a loser, but instead focus on the priceless experience its giving you, it takes off the pressure and helps you tap into your most efficient self. In the two weeks of preparing for this Senior Moot experience I have gained more practical skills than I ever did sitting in a classroom for 12 weeks (Not that university is not important kids!). In addition to that you have the opportunity to receive feedback from professionals who have mastered the ins and outs of the legal industry. I mean you could never put a price on that!
A N D T O C O N C L U D E . .
To conclude my little journal on participating in the Senior Moot, if you are someone who struggles with confidence, seek an inside view on courtroom experience, or simply wish to take part in an adrenaline-inducing experience, get yourself in the MOOD TO MOOT! You will not regret it and you will most definitely be better off than you were before.
In the Junior Moot my team and I did not even make it through the general rounds,. It always hurts to lose but we took this on as a challenge to implement the lessons and change the game on the next one.
I am proud to inform you dear reader that my team and I proved to be the Grand Final winners of the Senior Moot. So if that' s not an indicator of our progress, I wouldn 't know what is!
