Journal + Moot Court Forum

[goodman1]

2L fall semester beginning soon. Is it worth doing both at the same time while taking a full time (15 hour) load and another 15 hour load Spring, or should I hold off and do Moot court 3L?

I still want to remain in the top of my class, will I be able to manage?

[ihadadream]

Yes, almost any legal employer will want to see that you're on journal, and most employers look at moot court participation as an indicator of intellectual curiosity and drive. Also, the skills that you acquire through moot court participation will help you in practive, assuming you're planning to do trial and/or appellate work. Good luck. Been there, done that.

[sweets91]

2L fall semester beginning soon. Is it worth doing both at the same time while taking a full time (15 hour) load and another 15 hour load Spring, or should I hold off and do Moot court 3L?

I still want to remain in the top of my class, will I be able to manage?

It really depends on the person, but fwiw, moot court won't save you in OCI if your grades drop. In other words, if you really think your gpa will suffer, do journal and hold off on moot court

[lawhoo16]

FWIW, the hiring partner at the firm I SA'd at (Secondary market) told me that a journal is not as must-have so long as you are involved in other things that take up that time. So if your heart is in moot court, and you really want to get involved (by, for example, serving on the moot court board in addition to participating), that might be enough to satisfy most employers. Despite the TLS echo chamber, not having a journal will not ruin your chances at getting a firm gig (clerkships are another story). But you can't just goof off either.

[pancakes3]

TLS echo chamber actually says "journal doesn't matter but bc of who law students are, personality-wise, you're going to join anyway so who cares?"