Writing sample/moot court question Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2L at a lower T14 school with grades just inside the top 15%. I'm hoping to clerk at the district court level after graduating (don't care about CoAs), and won't be applying until I have at least 3 semesters of grades. I'm on LR. LR blows and I'm only doing it for the resume line.

If I don't clerk first I want to go into a DA's office, so I'm aiming a lot of my classes towards that; crim pro, evidence, trial adv classes, etc. I'm also looking to be on a mock trial team. I don't want to do moot court. However, I read that, obviously, moot court is better for clerkship applications as it involves much more research/writing than mock trial. However, if I don't get a clerkship I want to have done some things in school that will help me as an ADA.

If I have a very strong writing sample, but am not on moot court and don't get published, will that be enough to convince a judge as to my writing ability? Is there a realistic chance that the judge sees that or will my resume be passed over without the writing sample even being looked at?

Is this just up to the hiring particularities of individual judges or can someone who has knowledge on this subject tell me if it's likely to go one way or the other? Moot court seems like a big waste of time to me and if I can demonstrate ability without needing to participate in moot court I'd prefer to do mock trial/advocacy related things.

Thanks.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I don't know of any judge who has ever cared the tiniest bit about moot court. And if you're doing LR and writing a note, that should be sufficient for judges who look to check off boxes. Usually people do moot court to make up for doing LR, not on top of.

(Edit: someone may well come in and say that their judge did care about moot court. But I don't think it's a universal-enough preference that you should worry about it at all.)

[BearState]

My impression is that the source of the writing sample matters less than its quality/freedom from typographical errors. I wouldn't do moot court (on top of LR) just for the writing sample.

[ResIpsa21]

I agree with the posters above. Moot court will not have a significant effect on your clerkship applications, either for the resume line or the writing sample. As long as your writing sample is good, the source is irrelevant and most judges won't care whether you did moot court or not (though some might, as Mouse noted).

Mock trial, on the other hand, WILL be a huge benefit for you regardless of whether you clerk or not. Mock trial teaches extremely valuable skills that you will not get through moot court, especially if you want to be an ADA. Most top DA offices require you to present an opening statement or conduct a cross-examination during second- or third-round interviews. Doing mock will significantly improve your trial ad skills and could be the difference for getting those types of jobs. It will also demonstrate to DA offices that you are serious about trial practice (and some district judges might like this too, if you present it the right way). I would advise you to think beyond the paper credentials that affect your clerkship chances and focus more on developing actual skills that you will use as a lawyer.

For the record, I did LR, moot, and mock during law school, and while moot is probably more "prestigious" or whatever, I would definitely do mock if I had to choose between the two (especially since you are already on LR).

[A. Nony Mouse]

Yeah, I agree that mock trial is much more useful for an aspiring DA. I enjoyed moot court, but I be never had it come up in an interview at all, and mock trial does give you much more relevant experience for trial-level work (which is most work; not many people do appellate work).