Eagleionline

Today at 3:30pm the Moot Court finals will be held in EW120.  After a semester of argument, two teams are ready to go before a panel of guest judges to make their cases.  Who are these advocates?  EIO asked them a few questions to get an idea:

What’s your name?
Dave Horn (DH): Dave Horn.
Javier Stark (JS): Javier Stark.
Michael Moore (MM): Michael Moore.
Kyle Junik (KJ): Kyle Junik.

What section were you in?
DH: Section 2.
JS: Section 2.
MM: Section 2.
KJ: Section 2.

Will you be on a Moot Court team next year? Which one?
KJ: Saul Lefkowitz Intellectual Property Moot Court team.
MM: I’ll be on the Jessup team next year.
JS: Next year I’ll be on the J. Braxton Craven Constitutional Law Moot Court team.
DH: Nope.

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten so far from the judges? The oddest?
DH: Best advice, always put your best foot forward. Oddest, I didn’t personally receive it, but another competitor was criticized for being “too tall.”
JS: The best advice from judges has been to really try and have a conversation. It doesn’t help to read a prepared statement if the judges are concerned over certain issues. The point is to be able to make the arguments you want to make while still addressing the judges’ questions.

Which team would win in a cage match and why?
MM: Horn and Javi would probably win the cage match because Horn is a self-proclaimed “scrapper.”
JS: Cage match? Seriously?

Are you bummed that none of the judges for the Finals this year is on the Underneath Their Robes hottest judge list?
MM: I’m glad because if I had to perform in front of Judge Sutton last year, I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate.
JS: I didn’t know there was a hottest judges list.
DH: A little. It gives Karen and Josh something to aspire to in their careers — make it onto the Underneath Their Robes hottest judges list and then come back to judge a Grimes final.

Any advice for current 1Ls for next year’s competition?
KJ: Do the moot court competition. Take every opportunity to be evaluated and to improve a skill set.
MM: 1Ls should do the competition, regardless of their experience with oral arguments in LRRW. Spend some time on the brief, and practice doing your oral argument without notes.  The more familiar you are with your argument, the better you’ll be.
DH: Do it. The experience pays off after just a couple arguments. Taking full ownership over a problem — a brief, prep, argument, all without being accountable to your LRRW professor or 1L summer boss — is worthwhile and unique.
JS: Just participate. I was never a good public speaker and decided to take part in the competition to help me conquer my fear of public speaking. Turns out, it’s actually a lot of fun. It’s something different and I’d really recommend trying it.

Good luck to all four participants!