Informed: Jocelyn Bond, President of Moot Court

(1)    What are some facts about the Moot Court Board that GW Law students should know?

The mission of the Moot Court Board is entirely education focused. The main purpose of the moot court board is to give students the opportunity to develop their advocacy skills; both written and oral. The Board accomplishes these objectives primarily by giving the entire student body - along with members of the board -- the opportunity to participate in moot court competitions and to observe practitioners present oral arguments.

(2)  What are some of the unique perks of membership on the Moot Court Board?

Well, one of the most fun perks is that members of the Moot Court Board have the chance to participate in external competitions that the Board pays for. Examples and locations of external competitions that Board members have participated in include competitions in Boston, New York, and Texas, as well some ABA competitions. It is a really great perk to have these trips paid for. As another example of an external competition, I am on a team that is going to India in the upcoming weeks to participate in an international law moot court competition there.

A more practical perk is that the Moot Court Board holds professional development events for moot court board members only. For example, the board has arranged trips to the Georgetown Law Center moot court facility where they host Supreme Court moots.  Through these trips, members have had the opportunity to observe practitioners prepare for oral arguments before they appeared before the Supreme Court.

(3) How do you feel that membership on the Board contributes toward the development of professional skills?

I think that the things that I've mentioned in the responses above are the primary ways. Participating in moot court competitions -- and being forced to write briefs for both sides of an issue - helps you to you understand the issues thoroughly and to prepare to address oral argument questions from both perspectives.  The Moot Court Board also contributes to the development of professional skills by providing members with the opportunity to watch practitioners.  The opportunity to watch someone who has argued dozens of cases is education in and of itself.

(4)  The Moot Court Board facilitates multiple competitions each year, some of which are taking place this Spring.  What kind of internal teamwork is required to accomplish these objectives?

A lot. In fact, right now the Van Vleck competition which started in the fall is wrapping up on Thursday of this week.  It takes a tremendous amount of teamwork. There are twenty-five people on the Executive Committee who are involved with our competitions.  There are three Chairs for the Van Vleck competition, two Chairs For the Giles Rich competition, three Chairs for the National Security competition, two Chairs for the Grendier competition, and three Chairs for the First year competition which is starting soon. In all, there are thirteen Chairs who are focused exclusively on their respective competition. The board also has a Publicity Chair whose responsibility is to post signs around campus, and to post announcements on the Portal and to make sure that word gets out about the competitions. The Publicity Chair this year is also hosting a Thirsty Thursday event. There are also Judges Chairs - people who focus all year on recruiting judges through letters and phone calls. In addition, the board has a Vice President of Internal competitions who oversees the entire process of recruiting judges and ensuring that the competitions are publicized. There is a tremendous amount of coordination, and the Moot Court Board has a good machine going this year.

(5) What are some characteristics of the GW Law Moot Court Board that are distinguished from the average moot court board?

I don't think that I can speak to that because I don't have a good sense of how other moot court boards operate.

(6) Has the board been able to attract sufficient participation for competitions scheduled during the 2009-2010 academic year?

Yes. We are very pleased with the level of competition. Last year, some of the specialty competitions were on the slower side. This year however, participation in the Giles Rich competition increased from 16 to 28 teams.  Last year the Grenadier competition was pretty small, with under 10 teams participating, and this year there are 20 teams participating in the competition.  This year, the sizes of the competition are moderately comparable; for example, there were roughly 35 teams in the Van Vleck competition, and the other competitions have followed suit.

(7) What recommendations do you have for students who are interested in developing the skills necessary to perform well in a moot court competition?

First of all, practice, practice, practice. For most people public speaking does not come naturally, so the more that you have your friends fire questions at you, the better you will do. You also need to know and understand the facts and the law involved, and you have to know how to write. Writing, and finding professors who can review your writing and critique your oral arguments - those are all things that are going to put you ahead of the pack.  And certainly, it does not hurt to go and watch real practitioners do this kind of thing.  Oral arguments occur regularly at the Supreme Court, in the Federal Circuit, and at the DC Court of Appeals.  If you watch the practitioners, it will give you a baseline of what you should be shooting for.