"It works well to do it with a friend."  Great advice for finding a partner for life; and for finding a partner for skills competitions.  With the internal upper level skills competitions coming to a close today, upper level students are likely evaluating the successfulness of the relationships they've forged while competing, while 1Ls will undoubtedly start getting jazzed up for their turn.  All but one of the skills competitions at GW require at least one partner.  The 1L Moot Court Competition is the only solo gig, while external mock trial competitions are comprised of teams of four.  So when considering which competitions to do and when, it's important to think about who you'll be spending all those long hours with.  When thinking about what you want in skills partner, it may help to think of what you want in life partner.

"It's better to be friends first." 3L Karen Marie Cassidy competed in this year's Van Vleck Moot Court Competition and picked one of her close friends to compete with.  She commented that "it's better if you're friends first.  In the end, you're still friends."  This sentiment doesn't directly relate to real life relationships, but the underlying concept is still applicable.  Skills competitions often take hours of work; most of it spent cooped up in the library or in the private spaces of one of the partner's apartments.  Because of this, it makes a huge difference to spend that time with someone you actually like being around versus someone you barely know; or worse - can't stand.

"It's good to make sure you have the same goals."  Cassidy also noted the importance of having shared goals.  She explained that "if one partner wants to advance and the other doesn't, it could become a little awkward."  Similar to how if one person wants kids and their partner doesn't, being on different pages in terms of goals could create quite a stir in the relationship.

"Recognize each partner's strengths and play to those strengths."  2L Erin Carter talked about her experience doing the 1L Spring Mock Trial Competition.  She and her partner were randomly paired, but unlike the typical blind date, this pairing worked out for the best.  Carter commented on how good her partner was and how easy it was to develop a professional working relationship that worked for both of them.  Cassidy spoke highly of her partner and his strengths.  "My partner was good because I knew him from LRW.  He's on journal, I knew his writing style and he's on moot court.  He's slumming it with me."  Although said in her light-hearted joking style, Cassidy made a good point in having a partner whose strengths you can appreciate and play off.

"Be prepared to pick up the slack."  When asked what they would do if their partner was...less than adequate, nearly all students replied that they would step up and do more work.  In a sense, skills competitions are like marriages, in that getting out of the relationship is tough.  If your spouse sucks and you want out, divorces are messy, financially draining, and emotionally exhausting.  If your skills partner sucks and you want out, you can't; dropping a skills competition is almost impossible barring some major event or life change.  So, if you want it more, then you have to be willing to "do more work and take more for the team."  Carter says.

These tips can be quite helpful for finding "the one", be it for a skills competition or for life. For those looking for either, it's good to look for someone you trust; someone with a good work ethic; someone whose capabilities you trust; and hopefully someone good looking.  (Wink, wink.)  The good thing is, skills competitions only last a semester; versus the rest of your life, so don't worry if you don't get it right the first time.  The important thing is to do your best, and hopefully come out of it a better competitor, and a better friend.