Monday, April 18, 2011

Did you just call me a 'loof'?

Today I did my first ever oral arguments. For my lawyering class, we've been working on this case all year, and the culmination is oral arguments in front of the "Court of Appeals" at the end of the second semester. My group went today. My Court of Appeals consisted of my professor, one of our TA's, and one of Pro. Queenans former TA's. But they all wore robes and we were in a court room; it all felt very official.

Now that it's over, I find I quite enjoyed myself. It's kind of like when I was a kid and we used to go cliff jumping. I always got really nervous before I jumped, but after I did it I couldn't wait to get back up and do it again. I think it's the adrenaline rush. It was the same thing today. I was very close to terrified before our arguments began. Oral arguments are basically an opportunity for the judges to clarify your argument. Each attorney gets up and presents their argument for the alloted time (we had 8 minutes). You have to have a presentation ready, but you never get through it all because the judges ask you questions almost immediately. That's what I was scared of. What if they asked me a question, and I didn't know the answer? Plus, I have a tendency to ramble when I get nervous... Anyway, all things considered, I thought me and my group did pretty damn well. And we all looked super snazzy in our suits.

Anyway, so now I've done an oral argument and found that I rather enjoyed the experience. Maybe I'll do moot court next year. My professor is the advisor for the appellate advocacy competition, and she's been harping on all of us all year to join next year. Maybe I'll take her up on it. It really was quite fun. And with that statement, I believe my transformation to law school nerd is complete.

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