<p>Off topic, but I love to hear this (from another thread)... which led me to the questions about mock trial:</p>
<p>Don't think that "liking to debate" will translate well to the practice of law. Most lawyers don't debate anything - and litigators spend most of their time outside of court. </p>
<p>I actually have been cosidering NOT going to law school because I don't feel THAT comfortable in front of a courtroom. Granted, you get more comfortable with it in time... but I actually LIKE the idea of having a job where I'm constantly looking through various cases, seeing how they were tried, and trying to use that information to help various clients. I'm currently reading a book on Thurgood Marshall that discusses his various opinions on the cases he was a part of. Of course, I enjoy reading cases and articles that pertain to race relations, but the more I read, the more I find interest in other fields... </p>
<p>Anyway, I know a LOT of potential lawyers have a lot of experience doing mock trial. I've done mock trial and HATED it... mainly because I felt like winning wasn't based on who built up the best case so much as how entertained the judges were... </p>
<p>So I'm pretty much asking what the current lawyers, retired lawyers, and lawyers to be (thats you aries ^_^) think about Mock Trial. </p>
<p>Do you think it is even remotely close to what lawyers do? </p>
<p>Do you think it is a crucial experience for prospective lawyers to have?</p>
<p>Do you feel like "mock trial" is actually a very misleading moniker for the club?</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, Mock trial was fun (sort of) ... but I've just gotten turned off by many many aspects that are central to it.</p>
<p>"mainly because I felt like winning wasn't based on who built up the best case so much as how entertained the judges were"</p>
<p>sorry i cant answer your question. i've never done mock trial, but i went to a UCLA mock trial recruitment session. a lot of it seems scripted. it seems like they emphasized recruiting people with theatre or acting backgrounds so they can get good witnesses so they can present better. but i dunno, they must be doing something right since they're 2-time defending mock trial national champions.</p>
<p>I did mock trial in high school... and that was ages ago. </p>
<p>To try to answer your question - I feel that it was realistic because we had exactly three (short) competitions but practiced all year, about 10 hours/week, to prep for those. I guess the court time/research time ratio is pretty accurate. You do learn rudimentary rules of evidence, which is useful for, well, understanding some of law school before you take Evidence, which is not a first-year course. I think that the best part of mock trial (and I was lucky, because we had an attorney as our advisor) was learning why we could not ask certain things, how to analyze affidavits, and understanding how the elements of a tort (here, sexual harassment) had to be proved. </p>
<p>Of course, there is a lot of other "stuff" involved in litigation that is not represented in mock trial - and most cases are settled out of court. So I guess it represents a very narrow spectrum of the legal profession (litigation + those cases which actually make it to trial), but it was a good experience. IMO, if you just like mock trial, do it for the fun of it. If you don't, not the end of the world - plenty of talented, successful lawyers never did it.</p>
<p>If you hate public speaking, law school will be a bit of a shock (with Socratic), but you'll get used to it. I almost threw up when I won the Socratic lottery during my first-ever law school class (kept thinking about the Paper Chase, which wasn't helping), but now I have no qualms about raising my hand or being cold-called. For that reason alone, I would recommend that you try to do some form of public speaking before you start law school - because Socratic is brutal in ways that you can't imagine, and law school is brutal, too - so you'll be in better shape if some of that is not quite as horrible as it could be.</p>
<p>Thanks Aries... public speaking actually isn't what bothered me about Mock Trial. I've spoken in front of large numbers of people before. I think what bothered me about it was the fact that I can NOT act to save my life and the fact that each time I've done Mock Trial, I was working with a very inexperienced team of people. None of us never really knew what we were doing. I don't really have a problem speaking up in public unless I feel unprepared... thats probably what bothered me about MT the most... feeling unprepared.</p>
<p>" I don't really have a problem speaking up in public unless I feel unprepared... "</p>
<p>Well, tonight I had to speak in front of 200 people, for a while. I was informed of this...let's see...oh yes, TODAY! </p>
<p>You will not always be able to prepare yourself. Thinking on your feet and having some confidence in yourself is essential. As Aries said, wait until you get hit with the "socratic"...you'll have a blast ;).</p>