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Notre Dame Moot Court Competitors Carry Skills Into Chosen Legal Fields: How to Become a Lawyer 101

published April 13, 2023

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( 16 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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Summary

Notre Dame Law School is home to some of the most talented moot court competitors in the nation. Moot court is a form of legal argument that involves simulated court proceedings and is used to develop legal skills and enable students to sharpen their legal reasoning and analysis. Moot court competitions provide a platform for law school students to practice their advocacy skills and demonstrate their knowledge of the law.


Notre Dame's moot court team has won numerous national championships in the past, and its students have a solid track record of success in the legal field. Many former Notre Dame moot court competitors have gone on to become leading attorneys, judges, and academics in the legal profession.

The experience that former Notre Dame moot court competitors gain can be a valuable asset when it comes to launching their legal careers. Moot court provides an opportunity to develop their legal research and analysis skills and enhance their written and oral advocacy techniques. In addition, competing in this type of competition allows participants to gain insight into the way the legal system works, which can be a valuable asset in their careers.

Notre Dame's moot court program also provides students with the opportunity to develop their leadership and teamwork skills. Competitors are required to work together as part of a team, and this can also be beneficial when working in a law firm setting. In addition, the competition encourages creativity and problem-solving skills, which can be an asset of any attorney.

Overall, Notre Dame's moot court program is an invaluable asset to its former competitors. The competition enables students to hone their legal skills, gain insight into the legal system, and develop their leadership and teamwork qualities. With these skills, former Notre Dame moot court competitors are well-equipped for their chosen legal careers.

Notre Dame Law School's moot court program provides a platform for participants to develop their legal reasoning and analysis skills and practice their written and oral advocacy techniques. Through this competition, students also gain insight into how the legal system works and how to work effectively as part of a team. In addition, the competition encourages creativity and problem-solving skills, which can be an asset of any attorney. As a result, Notre Dame's moot court program is beneficial for former competitors as they enter the legal profession.
 

Lawyers and their Career Choice


Lawyers have some of the most successful careers, and those that do choose this profession are often highly motivated and intelligent. This is especially true for those that have competed in a Moot Court competition, such as that offered by the University of Notre Dame. Those that have taken part in this competition are often highly qualified and well-equipped for the world of law, regardless of their chosen specialty.
 

Notre Dame's Moot Court Program


The University of Notre Dame's Moot Court program is highly regarded, and participants are well-prepared to go into the legal field. It is a great opportunity for students to hone their legal skills and to participate in a highly competitive environment. This program has been helping students to become successful lawyers for years, and it is an excellent way to prepare for a career in law.
 

Advantages of Moot Court Competition


Participating in a Moot Court competition has several advantages for those that wish to enter into the legal profession. First, it provides the participants with an opportunity to gain experience in administering legal arguments and applying the law. Additionally, Moot Court competitions also provide participants with a chance to try their hand at various areas of law, including civil litigation, criminal law, and constitutional law.
 

Benefits of Moot Court Training


For those that do choose to pursue a career in law, Moot Court training can be extremely beneficial. It can provide participants with the skills and confidence needed to succeed in their chosen field of law. Additionally, Moot Court training provides a chance to gain valuable knowledge in court proceedings and the law.
 

A Chance to Develop Specialty Knowledge


The Moot Court competition also provides participants with the chance to specialize in a particular area of law. This provides those that participate with an opportunity to develop their knowledge in the area of law that interests them the most, and to become experts in their chosen field. This can be extremely beneficial when entering into the legal profession, as it can give the participant a leg-up on the competition.

Still, Moseley and his partner, now third-years, were 2 of 40 Notre Dame law students who embarked on this journey at the start of their second years, rising to the top of that group to be chosen among the four students who comprise Notre Dame's National Moot Court Team.

Charla Blanchard is also one of those four students. She and her partner went to regionals, but did not qualify for nationals as one of the top two teams in the region. Moseley's team came in second at regionals and also had the second-ranked brief at that competition of 16 law schools.

National champions or not, being on the moot court team can be "one of the most practical things you can learn in law school," says Moseley. There are two main skills needed in moot court competition-speaking and writing-for simulated cases brought before an appellate court, often the United States Supreme Court.

Being on the moot court team "makes you a quick thinker," says Blanchard. Competitors become accustomed to going out in front of different types of judges, to speaking in front of an audience, and to dealing with surprises.

Competitors must write a brief on the case, which is scored and worth 40 percent of the team's final score; then they must give oral arguments, worth 60 percent, before a panel of judges-usually volunteer lawyers, judges, or law faculty. Giving oral arguments requires quick thinking and an ability to focus on both sides of a case, says Moseley, and is the most enjoyable part of the competition for him.

Also, the brief writing part of competition gives training in persuasive writing, Moseley says, and mirrors what a lawyer does in practice much more than a three-hour test.

Blanchard first caught the moot-court competition bug after a first-year moot court class. One of the judges who saw her give an oral argument suggested she try out for the Notre Dame team. She signed up, along with 40 other Notre Dame students, at the beginning of her second year.

By internal competition, this group of 40 was whittled down to 10 students, who competed against each other again in the second semester of their second years. This group was then ranked, with the top 4 becoming part of Notre Dame's national team.

Blanchard and Moseley actually competed against each other in the second-year competition, says Moseley. In their first semester, students had to argue both for and against a First Amendment case on mixing commercial speech and political speech together. For the second semester, the 10 remaining students had to argue for or against a Fourth Amendment case involving search and seizure issues. Both cases were modified from actual cases pending before the United States Supreme Court at the time.

The skills Blanchard and Moseley used as second-years are the same ones they use as third-year competitors. The real challenge is getting arguments "sharp enough to argue them," says Blanchard, which is not the same as just thinking about them.

As part of the national team, Blanchard and Moseley both went to the regional competition in Indianapolis. The competition involved arguing a fictional case that dealt with the federal mail fraud statute and a tax court issue, making it both statutory and procedural.

While the format and logistics were the same as she had experienced in her second year, the case itself was more challenging, says Blanchard, because it was split between two entirely different subjects, and not two questions under one subject (such as the First Amendment). Blanchard and her teammate made a strategy decision to split up the tasks, with each tackling one subject. That tactic, however, ended up making it more difficult to collaborate with her partner in the competition, because they were each "in two separate worlds," she says.

Moseley and his partner both chose to do the initial research on both subjects; this way, they could bounce ideas of off each other to develop their arguments on the separate subjects, he says. They wrote their briefs separately but edited them together. "It took a lot more time to do it that way," says Moseley, but the strategy paid off.

As one of 28 teams from 14 regions at the national competition, Moseley and his partner competed on the same case they had at regionals. (This year's winners were from University of California, Hastings College of Law, San Francisco.)

Win or lose, Notre Dame's team members will take their skills into their legal practice. Moseley will join the firm of Soulston Siefkin in Wichita, KS, and practice commercial litigation. He hopes to do appellate litigation someday; for now, he will flex "the brief writing skills I've developed," he says.

Blanchard will go to work for the Cook County (Chicago) government in the Office of the Public Guardian. She will act as a Guardian Ad Litum, representing children in neglect and abuse cases, where she will use her confidence before judges advocating for children.

published April 13, 2023

( 16 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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