Today is an exciting day, the day the Practice Problem for Moot Court was released. Our school requires students to complete a practice brief prior to the actual competition.
While at first this sounds like one of the worst ideas since fanny packs, it actually has some practicals implications. Sure, myself and my partner will be responsible for two 30- page briefs, plus a full oral argument, so why would we want to take on ANOTHER extra assignment that offers no additional credit?
Well, first of all, the practice brief is a closed problem, meaning no research outside of the cited cases. This, right away, makes the entire process easier and smoother. No need to spend the first month looking up and reading cases, the first week of which are completely useless. Nope, all the cases are presented, just read and digest. This also means that there is no worrying about making sure all the authority is good. So right there, major help.
The second is the page limit. The practice brief is a paltry 8 pages. Including a statement of facts. And only one position must be presented.
Overall, I don't think the practice brief is really designed to have us improve our legal writing skills, instead the focus seems to be on developing a system for working together as a team. Which is a much more manageable task indeed.
And with that, Moot Court has officially begun! Keep reading for more
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