8 minute read
Where to Invest Your Time: Law Review or Moot Court?
by EMILy L. SMItH
By now, you’ve probably heard about your school’s Law Review Journal or Moot Court Team, but you may not know enough about either to decide where, or whether, you want to invest your time.
STUDENT SECTION
While there are some students who choose to participate in both, many students simply do not have the time. As a current 2L student who is both a law review staff member and a moot court team member, I hope this article gives both incoming and current 1L law students some basic information about each academic endeavor.
The Basics:
Law review is a student-run journal that publishes articles from both academic scholars and students exploring novel and interesting aspects of the law. Students are responsible for connecting with authors, choosing articles and editing them according to law review standards. There is a workflow hierarchy that includes an editor-in-chief, a managing editor and several other positions that all share different responsibilities regarding editing and publishing.
Moot court is a competition in oral advocacy. There are a number of competitions throughout the country, all of which are specific to an area of law. A school’s team typically consists of two to three individuals, and perhaps some fellows, who share the responsibility of writing a brief that responds to a hypothetical and
relevant “appellate court opinion.” Each team also has at least one volunteer coach, typically a lawyer in the community. At the competition, each team participates in multiple rounds of oral arguments, arguing as counsel for both parties, regardless of which side the team brief represents.
Requirements for Joining:
Generally speaking, after the first year of law school, law review will invite somewhere between the top 1020 percent of students to become staff members for the next year’s volume. Those who are not invited are often able to participate through a summer write-on competition. If being invited onto law review is your goal, then first-year grades should be your top priority.
Moot court typically has a more holistic approach to member selection. For 2L students who wish to be team members, considerations include a review of a resume, transcript and grades in specific classes that demonstrate moot court skills (such as appellate advocacy). For some schools, moot court is a less sought-after academic pastime for students, and thus positions are easier to achieve. If you feel like you aren’t quite up to the commitments of law review, do not overlook moot court as a possibility.
resume.
Additionally, many moot court teams allow 1L students to become fellows. There is a lot less involvement as a fellow, as they typically do not compete, but it is a tremendous learning experience if you want to become a team member the following year. It looks pretty good on a resume going into 1L summer job interviews.
Time Commitments:
Time is probably the biggest consideration in deciding whether to join (or return the following year) to one of these activities.
The 2L students on the law review are generally staff members that assist 3L students in checking the citations for articles. The 3L students, in their respective roles, take the first pass at the articles for some basic formatting and editing, and those versions are then passed on to the staff members who locate sources for citations. Depending on the length of the article, the number of citations, and your knowledge of the Blue Book, each “citation check” can take varying amounts of time.
Additionally, each 2L staff member is required to write a student “note” or “comment” on any legal issue of choice. Student articles are tough to write; there’s very specific formatting and style requirements, and it is a very time-consuming (and usually weekend) project. In addition to classes, externships, jobs and interviewing for jobs, it can feel a bit overwhelming.
For most, law review commitments eat up time from August until the end of February. I looked back at the time I spent this semester from August through January on all things law school (including reading for class, time in class, externing, applying for jobs, law review, moot court, etc.), and in total, it equals 875 hours. Of those 875 hours, I’ve spent roughly 100 on law review, which is about 11.5 percent of my time. There’s still one month to go, including one more cite check and final student notes, but hopefully that gives some idea of the time commitment required for Law Review as a 2L student.
Moot court is a different ball game. Teams are typically busy for a shorter period of time during the year based on the dates of the release of the problem, the final brief and the competition itself. For my team, our problem was released in mid-October, briefs were due in January and the competition was at the end of February. Researching and brief writing takes up the first few months, and then mooting practices take up the back few. To give a similar idea regarding time requirements, I’ve spent roughly 50 hours from August through January, or 5 percent of my time, on all things moot court. At this point in the year, there are still 13 more practices and the competition, so it’s a tough call deciding which academic extra is truly more time consuming, as practices can be lengthy and the competition can take a full weekend.
Academic, Career, and other Benefits:
Both law review and moot court offer some academic benefits, including one or two credits toward graduation. In addition, if students successfully write a student note or comment, law review can satisfy the upperlevel writing requirement needed to graduate and allow students the opportunity to become published. Nearing the end of your time as a 2L staff member, you may also have the ability to apply to a higher-level position within law review, giving you an additional resume boost, and potentially a decent stipend. Moot court also has an executive board, typically run by 3L members, and these positions allow students to be more involved; and, again, they offer a nice resume boost.
Moot court and law review are both considered high achieving academic extracurriculars, and both certainly look nice on a resume. Both allow opportunities for networking with classmates, but moot court allows for networking within the local legal community. During the short span of time while practicing oral arguments, team coaches connect with their fellow lawyers and judges and ask them to participate in practices. This experience is unlike others in law school – not only do you get to practice your oral advocacy skills, but
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you get feedback from professors, lawyers and judges from different practice areas about both your legal arguments and your presentation. In my opinion, it is an invaluable experience.
How Do You Choose?
It is difficult for students to have the time and energy to do both law review and moot court. It is manageable, but that is a subjective assessment for each person to make. Law review is admittedly more of an introverted extracurricular, as you spend a lot of time reading and fine-tuning citations. Moot court is arguably a more extroverted experience. To determine what is right for you, think about what is important for you. Are you hoping to get an offer at a top firm? Are you going to pursue a judicial clerkship? If so, your goals might be better served by law review (note that many judicial clerkships actually require participation in law review in order to apply). However, if you are hoping to gain practical experience in public speaking, or if you hope to be a litigator or trial attorney, moot court might better serve your interests. While law review doesn’t directly teach as many practical skills as moot court, it does offer an opportunity to hone writing skills and potentially become published. Moot court has a more practical application, as participants are able to practice research and writing, as well as oral advocacy. My advice: really consider how you want to spend your time, what skills you want to improve and what you think is going to benefit you in the long run when pursuing job opportunities.
Emily L. Smith
Law Student Capital University Law School
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