I have never quite understood why Mooting is the most horrendous, obscure and horrific competition that one can ever enter oneself into. Of course there are those jolly good try hards that love to do all the research and love presenting their case to the artificial court of appeal that it most likely chaired by someone who has taught you law and in my case probably has a grudge against me that I didn't turn up for their seminar.
Now for those of you who care to be reminded, I have done mooting in the past and in the first year I was reasonably good at it, though never quite progressed to those moots(though my friends did) where barristers were brought in as acting judges, and they decided to throw carefully prepared bundles across the table and tell the mooters involved that they were shit.
Then came the second year and I was stuck with proprietary estoppel... that can be read about somewhere else on this blog and the experience left me with an urge to SLAP the BVC student that wasn't so nicely judging my moot. "Oh I've mooted internationally" well you may have mooted internationally but at least I'm not a jobsworth and have my humanity still intact!. Excuse me dear readers.. last year's mooting was a painful experience and I didn't even progress past the first round. The bells of failure perhaps rung to early on my mooting career.
So whilst I am stuck in the mooting for retards, all my 'learned' friends are dashing around the country doing something wonderful called EXTERNAL mooting and are pally bum chums in the law department.. eurgh can you smell the jealousy?
Whilst my other law pallies are to scared to enter mooting, most of whom have done it once and have definitely decided that it is not for them due to various reasons; though probably most likey (a) the extreme pressue (b) pulling you hair out the night before and not sleeping (c) walking into the moot to discover that your partner has dropped out (twice that's happened to me) (d) having the judge tell you that you are shit and asking you questions that you don't understand.
This year however should be slightly better, as I appear to be one of the few third years participating in this years "why do I do this I feel the need to self harm" competition. The first problem question in this tournament is on the ghastly "invitations to treat" such and such has put an advertisement in the local paper wanting to sell chocolate and then the poor sod of a client that has me to represent him wanted to buy the chocolate but she retracted the ad and refuses to contract with him. Lovely jubbley. I am at LEAST prepared somewhat this time, as I have been diligent in my research and at least have an IDEA of what I am going to say.
If I however get that most learned twat of a judge from last year, I think I shall just walk out in protest... or maybe refer to him as "my lady"...
4 comments:
Hiya Lost,
Is that pic of your wig?!?! Have you got a name for him?! ( He looks like a Bert to me!!)
Seriously though, Mooting may feel as if you are having a wisdom tooth pulled without the benefit of anaesthetic, but it really is the best thing you can do if you are determined to become an advocate. The key thing is that you've had experience of the thing, and you know what to expect; that of it self should at least give you some confidence! (though I must say I dont think I could have resisted the temptation to smack mr Smug International BVC Mooter, either)Further if you have been before a particular judge in the past, you know a bit about their little fussies - a nice bundle, a smartly turned out Lost, stuff like that; pandering to those things will undoubtedly help!
I obviously dont need to tell you that the moot scenarios are based on real cases, and with respect to invitation to treat you can go completely bonkers! Do you have Blackstones Book of Moots? Tis a slim volume and well worth a read. Further, think comforting thoughts to yourself - you are a third year and know what you are doing, and that this is ALL going to look bloody WONDERFUL on your CV!!
This is my third year of mooting, and I only think it looks good if I perhaps go to the semi final of this year, hopefully I will but who knows I may like last year fluster at the first question before my first submission and give up!!
How can one make mooting look like a REAL achievement, apart from the fact that every other wannabe barrister has done it?
Hmm
I am sure you will do fine this time, I am in a similar position with preparing for the external moots (ESU). The problem is on the intentional torts of battery and wrongful imprisonment.
Unfortunately who ever drafted the second ground of appeal has a grasp of English which would usually be attributed to a particularly slow baboon.
It is a problem that everyone (well everyone who is at least half serious about going to the Bar) moots so it's difficult to use it as a distinguishing feature unless you have either won an internal comp or done it in a national or international comp.
There is the opportunity to do this when you do the BVC so do not despair.
I did it once, hated it (despite knocking some third years out and progressing to the second round without ever having bene taught criminal law or even how to use Westlaw) and haven't done it again...I'll probably look to do it again in my final two years!
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