The Best Class I’ve Taken in Law School

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Coming into law school, I had no intention of ever stepping into a court room. I thought I wanted to do education policy work for a non-profit or government agency, hanging out behind a desk, engaging with complex issues at the highest levels, and generally avoiding an adversarial setting at all costs. But then I actually came to law school and what I thought I wanted shifted dramatically — which, spoiler alert, happens a lot!

My 2L year, my dear friend and current Law Student Association Vice President Andrea Clavijo lovingly coerced me into participating in the intra-school Moot Court competition. More on that later (and you can read about it on the BC Law web site here), but the tl;dr version is that Moot Court is basically fake appellate advocacy. Instead of making an argument to a jury, Law & Order style, you and a partner argue in front of a (fake) Supreme Court, focusing on the legal issues and advocating for what the law should be.

The experience was absolutely terrifying, and I. Absolutely. Loved It. Which is what brings me to the actual topic of the post: the best class I’ve taken in law school.

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[Mock] Trials & [Real] Tribulations

The Mock Trial Team @ Regionals

The Mock Trial Team @ Regionals (not pictured: Jen Henricks, who was sick)

This past weekend BC Law hosted the Regional Mock Trial Competition in downtown Boston — specifically at the Suffolk Superior Court and at Suffolk Law School.  The competition lasted from Thursday – Sunday, and featured trials everyday.  BC Law took two teams, and I was on one of them.  The experience was nothing short of grueling and fantastic — it’s amazing to stand up in a courtroom like a trial attorney and match wits with law students from other schools.  At the same time, it’s incredibly nerve-racking to go against people who typically have extensive experience with mock trial (high school, college, etc.), and to really focus on all the dynamic changes that go on during a trial.

A Model of the Trial

A model of what the trial is about! (Yes, it happened in a trailer park)

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