What a relief
Nov. 30th, 2011 10:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alee_grrlSo one of the biggest rites of passage at my law school is the appellate advocacy class. It's a 3 credit hour course that requires about 6 credit hours worth of work and is made out to be a huge deal. You are assigned a case that is currently before the Supreme Court, after which you are assigned a side (Petitioner or Respondent). You are then tasked with writing a brief (persuasive legal document arguing for your side) but prohibited from reading any of the briefs related to your case (additionally many of the professors prohibit you from reading any brief that is not in your appellate advocacy writing guide). The idea is to encourage creativity and originality in addition to teaching the appellate process. The limitations do make research harder since the student has to be careful to avoid anything that references one of the briefs in the case (like law review articles that would otherwise be very helpful). After you complete the brief and get that turned in, you then have to complete the oral argument part of the class. Just as attorneys representing the case before the Supreme Court are required to offer a 20 minute argument (though it is more likely to be an aggressive question and answer session rather than a 20 minute lecture) before a panel of judges. Thankfully we only have to argue before a three judge panel and not a full nine judge one. In addition to the three judges, you have your professor, a representative of the student moot court advisory board and the student bailiff present. You can also have additional audience members if someone wants to come and watch.
I completed my brief and got it turned in on the 17th, and tonight was my oral argument. I don't have my brief back yet, so I have no idea how that was judged and won't know until the semester is over. My oral argument went very well though. The judges asked some excellent questions and I was able to answer them all. I came close to babbling once, and made a slightly funny face when I got a question I wasn't anticipating. I also should have shortened my conclusion. Other than those three points (and a nice reminder that it is always fine to pause, take a deep breath, look at your notes and then get back to your argument rather than babble), the feedback was all very positive. I knew the cases and used them well. I responded nicely to several questions that were meant to trip me up, and I managed to address an issue where the judges were trying to get me to concede a point without actually conceding the point. My word choices during several arguments were noted to be particularly persuasive. My overall tone and body language were good, and I apparently have a very soothing voice.
Overall it went way better than I could have hoped. I am so relieved to be done with it. Now I can switch gears and start cranking out my next paper (10-15 pages on a topic of our choice dealing with law and popular culture). Thankfully this is more like a Literature paper than a legal one. I'm looking at how geek culture lets us explore legal theories and ideas and helps us better understand the legal culture (and society in general) as it currently exists. I should be able to crank out ten pages this weekend and then polish it up next week. Then it will be time to prep for finals. I cannot believe how quickly this semester has passed.
I completed my brief and got it turned in on the 17th, and tonight was my oral argument. I don't have my brief back yet, so I have no idea how that was judged and won't know until the semester is over. My oral argument went very well though. The judges asked some excellent questions and I was able to answer them all. I came close to babbling once, and made a slightly funny face when I got a question I wasn't anticipating. I also should have shortened my conclusion. Other than those three points (and a nice reminder that it is always fine to pause, take a deep breath, look at your notes and then get back to your argument rather than babble), the feedback was all very positive. I knew the cases and used them well. I responded nicely to several questions that were meant to trip me up, and I managed to address an issue where the judges were trying to get me to concede a point without actually conceding the point. My word choices during several arguments were noted to be particularly persuasive. My overall tone and body language were good, and I apparently have a very soothing voice.
Overall it went way better than I could have hoped. I am so relieved to be done with it. Now I can switch gears and start cranking out my next paper (10-15 pages on a topic of our choice dealing with law and popular culture). Thankfully this is more like a Literature paper than a legal one. I'm looking at how geek culture lets us explore legal theories and ideas and helps us better understand the legal culture (and society in general) as it currently exists. I should be able to crank out ten pages this weekend and then polish it up next week. Then it will be time to prep for finals. I cannot believe how quickly this semester has passed.
