Moot Court Comp on Transcript But Didn’t Make the Team Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi, all. I am on LR and decided to give Moot Court a shot too. It was pretty naive and shortsighted to try to do both (with my other extracurriculars and orgs). I am worried I might not get on. I submitted my brief and it was miserable.

My question is — what if the competition credit is on my transcript but I’m not on the team? Will employers ask? I don’t want it to hurt me negatively.

[Popopo2019]

This is easily explainable as “I decided to focus on LR”. Good law school grades and a personality is 99% of success in getting a first job from law school.

[notinbiglaw]

When interviewers asked me why I didn’t even do the writing competition or join LR/MC, in the few times it came up, I literally told them (not all) that I wasn’t a huge fan of working for free and I was very focused on getting 1L summer and paid positions for next year. I also explained I felt actual law firm experience would be more helpful than anything LR or Moot Court could provide. I focused less on the money and more on getting direct experience depending on the vibe I was getting from the interviewer.

Super money grubby/hungry but it was how I really felt after talking to many people during and before 1L.

Response? Cool. Seriously very few people/firms care about LR/Moot Court. Grades, relevant experience and interview performance are way more important. LR/MC is not nothing but it’s not much either.

[Anonymous User]

When interviewers asked me why I didn’t even do the writing competition or join LR/MC, in the few times it came up, I literally told them (not all) that I wasn’t a huge fan of working for free and I was very focused on getting 1L summer and paid positions for next year. I also explained I felt actual law firm experience would be more helpful than anything LR or Moot Court could provide. I focused less on the money and more on getting direct experience depending on the vibe I was getting from the interviewer.

Super money grubby/hungry but it was how I really felt after talking to many people during and before 1L.

Response? Cool. Seriously very few people/firms care about LR/Moot Court. Grades, relevant experience and interview performance are way more important. LR/MC is not nothing but it’s not much either.

OP here. I think what concerns me isn’t that I won’t be on my team but the fact that my “litigation skills” weren’t good enough to make the team.

[biglaw_advice]

On the recruiting committee at a biglaw firm and, from my own experience, something like this has never come up. I would not see this and think you don't have the requisite litigation skills - grades and work experience matter far more. Law review is held in a much higher regard than moot court (at least at my firm) so seeing you are on LR would be a plus in your column as we review different candidates.

[thriller1122]

When interviewers asked me why I didn’t even do the writing competition or join LR/MC, in the few times it came up, I literally told them (not all) that I wasn’t a huge fan of working for free and I was very focused on getting 1L summer and paid positions for next year. I also explained I felt actual law firm experience would be more helpful than anything LR or Moot Court could provide. I focused less on the money and more on getting direct experience depending on the vibe I was getting from the interviewer.

Super money grubby/hungry but it was how I really felt after talking to many people during and before 1L.

Response? Cool. Seriously very few people/firms care about LR/Moot Court. Grades, relevant experience and interview performance are way more important. LR/MC is not nothing but it’s not much either.

OP here. I think what concerns me isn’t that I won’t be on my team but the fact that my “litigation skills” weren’t good enough to make the team.

As someone who did very well in moot court, who cares? You are selected by other students who also don't know what the hell they are doing. Sure it can be a nice feather in your cap, but not impressing your classmates enough to make it on moot court (which isn't a great experience anyway) hardly matters.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, no one is going to think that not being on the trial team in your school’s moot court is a function of your litigation skills.