Mooting cannot be seen as a one person activity. In order to be a good mooter, there has to be a supportive, encouraging, and competitive environment in the college. And to have the same, there are certain points which can be implemented.
The same are as follows:
1. Orientation: When a first year or second year wants to know, learn and partake in moot competitions, there are various hurdles which need to be crossed in order to just participate effectively.
In many law colleges, there is a proper orientation given to the students, with live examples as to how a moot is conducted, how arguments are made, research & drafting. The same should be followed in colleges across the country. This course on mooting by Lawctopus Law School can surely help.
Side note: If you think your college might be interested in an institutional partnership with Lawctopus Law School, please contact at tanuj.kalia@lawctopus.com
If you plan to conduct an orientation, the following steps should be considered:
- Seasoned mooters should do a demo moot for the benefits of the incoming batch/juniors. If your college is new, seasoned mooters from other colleges can be invited too.
- Live sessions (showcased on a projector) on how to use search engines like SCC, Manupatra, Hein Online, Jstor, Kluwer etc.
- Good, standard memorials should be shared amongst the students along with the moot problem, for them to understand and implement. Lawctopus.com contains such memorials for free download.
All these steps will encourage more and more students to take part in moot competitions because they would then have the basic know-how.
2. Non-participants should be encouraged to attend moot court competitions whether these are internal selection rounds or external moots just like national or international moots being conducted by your college: The idea is to spread the art of mooting, making more and more people participate in such extra-curricular activities.
When students are encouraged to sit and watch other people contest for a competition, they get a better idea of “how it is done”. This will also encourage inter-college and intra-college networking between people and will open doors to more opportunities.
3. Have seasoned mooters as heads of the Moot Court Committee: The idea of having seasoned mooters judging the internal rounds and running the society will allow the society to prosper for the simple reason that such individuals would share their practical insights.
However, it is suggested that the members of the moot committee should refrain from participating in any moots during their tenure, so that there is complete transparency, and there are no questions raised around conflict of interest. Things like “Oh, she/he gets the best moots because she/he is a part of the moot committee” should be avoided.
4. Moot committee organisers should be people who have mooted: Most of the colleges have moot committees and organise moots. However, in many colleges, most of the organisers are people who have not mooted. To have better functioning and effective learning for the members of the moot court society, it is necessary that the organisers should be mooters, who know the nitty-gritty of mooting.
5. Have a set of seasoned mooters to coach teams: Sometimes, if one has mooted a lot in early years of one’s college, one stops mooting in the 4th or 5th year. These senior students are the resources who can ideally be designated as coaches, which would ultimately help the next generation mooters grow. This ‘giving back’ results in a better mooting culture for the college and a better functioning mooting society in the long-run.
6. Group Discussions: Mooters can once a week/fortnight/month sit together and discuss the moot problems for the upcoming competitions, and help the chosen team(s) get a better result and learn more from peer discussions.
7. Make a network: A lot of times, it is seen that the same team of 3 members participate together in moots, which is good and bad at the same time. Good for the reason that you already have an understanding amongst yourselves.
However, bad for the reason that you restrict yourself and forget the bigger goal of honing your team-management skills. It is important for mooters to develop a wide and rich network. Through this measure, one might be able to find and work with people who are different and in return learn much more than expected (Hint: diverse teams result in better and more learnings). After all, it’s all about learning, isn’t it?
8. Volunteer at Competitions: The mooters should be encouraged to volunteer as “court clerks” for the moot court competitions which are held in their respective colleges, so that they learn the art of arguments and the nuances of tackling judges from the best of the mooters.
In this process, the potential mooters in a college are also suggested to thoroughly read the moot problem, so that they are able to appreciate the arguments and questionings done during the moot rounds.
9. Assist other Moot Teams: If a mooter has not been selected (at the college level) for a specific moot that he or she intended to participate in, the said mooter can assist the selected team, specially in case he/she intends to participate in the said Moot the next year.
Also, the Mooters in their 1st or 2nd year, who in future intend to participate in reputed moot court competitions such as Jessup, should voluntarily assist their seniors who are currently participating in various competitions.
Well-performing moot court teams can result in many additional benefits for the law college as an institution. It is important to note that a college can get good placements, or recognition at the Bar when many of their alumni do well in moots.
Prize-winning teams can also email Lawctopus at tanuj.kalia@lawctopus.com to be interviewed by them. Publishing your interviews and insights on Lawctopus can give both the mooters and the institution wide recognition in the legal industry.
10. Raise Attendance Issues: There are various colleges that believe that it is acceptable to claim attendance for dance, sports, drama, and other such competitions, but not for moot competitions.
Senior mooters should make representations to the management, requesting them to allow claiming of attendance for moot court competitions as well, which shouldn’t just be restricted to the time period of the competition, but should also include some of the time period of the preparation days.
11. Host excellent Moot Court Competitions: Many law schools host various moot court competitions, but barring a few exceptions, most of the national moots are below average. A prestigious moot isn’t much about the prize money, or the dignitaries that one invites, but it is about 3 things and 3 things only:
- the quality of the moot problem;
- the quality of the judges;
- and the quality of the teams participating.
If you get the first two qualities right, the third, i.e. the quality of the teams participating will consequently be excellent. Thus, make sure that the moot hosted by your college involves a moot problem drafted by an expert on the subject matter involved.
Further, from the first round till the last – try to invite judges who are experts in the subject matter involved, and needless to say some exceptional ex-mooters (irrespective of the fact that they are the alumnus of your college or not). Remember these experts (the people who will draft the moot problem and others who will judge the oral rounds) are a gold-mine of resources. They’ll deliver quality feedback to the participants, and sometimes even offer internships, etc. to the best mooters (it’s hard to ignore a team that has researched well and speaks cogently).
Many mooters and people even from the organizing committee (such as those involved in drafting ‘bench memos’) get pre placement offers or internship offers during the moots. Hence, the quality of the moot that your college hosts is important.
(Note: ‘bench memorials’ are specific memorials made for the convenience of the bench and contain brief research and arguments which would be raised by the speakers before him/her.)
12. Do not stop participating in parliamentary debates: Many Mooters tend to stop debating, once they start mooting, as many of them believe that parliamentary debates are all about “faffing”. Well, irrespective of such views, debating always helps you in two most important things: thinking on your feet and giving you an opportunity of public speaking.
It is important that you continue to debate, so that your speaking skills aren’t dormant, but awake – like the sunflowers are, every day, during the unfiltered sunlight. Do not wait for the sunlight/upcoming moots to hone your skills, make use of every opportunity of improving your speaking skills. But beware, do not get used to faffing too much! 😛
13. Mooting requires focus: It is important that you give mooting the value it deserves. Remember, a good moot, a good argument, or good drafting, may get you a placement opportunity with an expert on the subject matter (and this often happens, a judge-expert tends to offer internships/jobs to the best mooters after hearing them speak).
Thus, when you are preparing for moots, try and keep all the distractions aside, because the experience can change your life forever. However, mooting is ofcourse not just about getting a good job, and good mooters mostly moot for the love of the mooting experience. Thus, for anyone who has passion for Mooting, our suggestion – Go All Nuts!
14. Do not cheat: In order to win, sometimes many mooters (during their college rounds) tend to indulge in activities such as hiding books, or seeking illegal favours from moot court society such as increasing their marks, etc. Do not indulge in such activities, because honour is not in winning but playing the game fairly.
Remember, many mooters give up everything, their sleep, food, relationships, marks in semesters, only for the experience of mooting. Hence, it is important that these mooters are respected for their efforts, and not lead into disappointment because of the corruption involved in the process.
15. Take help: Do not hesitate in taking help from your teachers, colleagues, seniors or even juniors. It is important to develop a culture wherein teachers assist the mooters, as they are themselves experts in various subjects. But remember, the assistance should only be limited to guidance. Do NOT get the teachers or anyone else outside the moot team to draft for you, or research for you, etc. It’s unethical!
16. Donate trophies: Donate your trophies to the college. The trophies are symbols which may give birth to passion, and may re-affirm one’s belief in the possibility of winning. Hence, it is important that you donate those trophies to your college, and be an inspiration to future-mooters.
