Law Journal vs. Moot Court? Forum

[Darth Topher]

Which do you think is the best to participate in during law school?

Which do you think looks the best for OCI's?

[snowboarder2713]

I asked two prominent lawyers this and immediately they both gave me responses of "law review".

[turkfish]

I suppose it depends how well you do in moot court, but I think law review is generally considered more prestigious. I might be wrong, but when the whole Harvard Law Review scandal with that Harvard Law Avenger guy was all over ATL, I thought some people were saying that the winner of the ABA national moot court is often from a poorly-ranked law school because the people at higher-ranked law schools who are interested in moot court generally find their own law school's moot court competition to be more competitive.

If you are talking about a non-competitive law journal that you can just sign up for without having to win a spot, they're probably about the same.

[Darth Topher]

I suppose it depends how well you do in moot court, but I think law review is generally considered more prestigious. I might be wrong, but when the whole Harvard Law Review scandal with that Harvard Law Avenger guy was all over ATL, I thought some people were saying that the winner of the ABA national moot court is often from a poorly-ranked law school because the people at higher-ranked law schools who are interested in moot court generally find their own law school's moot court competition to be more competitive.

If you are talking about a non-competitive law journal that you can just sign up for without having to win a spot, they're probably about the same.

solid assumption

[USCtrojan86]

LR is always, ALWAYS the most prestigious extracurricular at any LS. This includes schools that have excellent Moot Court programs.

That doesn't mean LR is the best or even the most intellectually/educationally/socially worthwhile extracurricular, but it will always be generally seen as the most prestigious.

This is primarily because all of the prestigious people in prestigious positions of the older generation (who will be the one's making decisions about your career one way or another) were invariably on LR themselves back in the day, and thus they have a vested interest in thinking it is the most prestigious you can do while in LS because it makes them feel prestigious for having done it.

[lishi]

Just do both!!!

Problem solved.

[joonbug]

Moot court is exactly that... moot.

[seagull48]

Which do you think is the best to participate in during law school?

Which do you think looks the best for OCI's?

you know, i think it really depends. i'd do the one that's more suited to your strengths and interests. if you really want to do trial work, moot court might better prepare you for future jobs. it might not look as impressive on the resume, but it will give you concrete/relevant skills you can talk about at interviews. if you're more interested in scholarship/academia/research, law review might be more enjoyable. personally, i would do law review, but i love research and the bluebook and writing. i know other people who would kill themselves before working on a journal. this is not to say you should only do what you're good at. moot court would be a great way to improve one's presentation and public speaking skills.

[savagedm]

Moot court is exactly that... moot.

can you do both?

[conn09]

Are we differentiating between law review and the other law journals?

[TTH]

Law Review > Moot Court/Secondary Journals > Mock Trial

Even for future litigators, the research experience on law review is going to be hugely beneficial. 95% of litigation work is done outside of the courtroom, and correct me if I'm wrong, but moot court primarily concerns itself with appellate arguments which few freshly-minted JDs are going to do.

[ggocat]

Law Review > Moot Court/Secondary Journals > Mock Trial

TITCR, but if you are a stellar mooter, then moot court is superior to editorial board of a secondary journal IMO (so you should pick whichever you are more likely to succeed at).

correct me if I'm wrong, but moot court primarily concerns itself with appellate arguments which few freshly-minted JDs are going to do.

Moot court translates fine to regular practice. Although moot court consists of appellate briefs and arguments, it is virtually identical to motions practice in front of a trial court judge.

[Vikram]

I did both law review and moot court and felt that moot court was more relevant and helpful to me as a litigator. But firms love law review on resume wayyy more than moot court.

[20160810]

Either way, you'll be putting in hours of work, so do the one that's the most fun for you.

[Alexandria]

Actually winning a moot court, especially the school-wide competition of one of the top schools is super, super impressive. Being a finalist or semi-finalist is also very impressive. I think these are better than any secondary journal. But just participating in moot court doesn't really mean much other than that you were willing to work on something law-related outside of classes. You didn't have to be good at it just to participate. Whereas for secondary journals, at least the fact that you made the journal is something.

Law review... yeah, it's a different animal. It's probably the best credential to have on your resume. (Though I'm not convinced that it's better than *winning* a prestigious moot court, but as you can't do those as a 1L anyway, it doesn't really come into play for the 2L job hunt.) I'm personally not sold on law review's benefits being worth the work you put into it, based on my own experiences and those of friends with great grades who chose not to try for law review and have still been very successful in getting good firm jobs and appellate clerkships. Since there's such a high correlation between great grades and law review membership, I think it's hard to tell how much impact law review membership is really having on employability.

Of course, if I were class of 2011 or 2012, knowing I would be facing a tougher market for OCI and callbacks, I would have felt more pressure to do the law review competition and probably would have done it. Better safe than sorry.

[ggocat]

Actually winning a moot court, especially the school-wide competition of one of the top schools is super, super impressive. Being a finalist or semi-finalist is also very impressive. I think these are better than any secondary journal. But just participating in moot court doesn't really mean much other than that you were willing to work on something law-related outside of classes. You didn't have to be good at it just to participate. Whereas for secondary journals, at least the fact that you made the journal is something.

To clarify the quoted post: participating in an intra-school moot court competition and being a member of the school's inter-school moot court team are very different activities. Unlike intra-school competitions, being a member of moot court requires more than just participation; it requires selection (i.e., being good at moot court) much like being chosen for a journal.

Intra-school moot court and any other activity in law school (including law review or a secondary journal) should not be mutually exclusive, either by mandate or in fact (i.e., because of time constraints). Thus, unlike some more time-consuming activities--such as membership on law review or moot court--no one should be forced to decide between intra-school moot court and another law school activity.

But as I posted earlier, I agree with main contention quoted above: stellar moot court performance is preferable to simple membership on a secondary journal.

[Rocketman11]

To clarify the quoted post: participating in an intra-school moot court competition and being a member of the school's inter-school moot court team are very different activities. Unlike intra-school competitions, being a member of moot court requires more than just participation; it requires selection (i.e., being good at moot court) much like being chosen for a journal.

Intra-school moot court and any other activity in law school (including law review or a secondary journal) should not be mutually exclusive, either by mandate or in fact (i.e., because of time constraints). Thus, unlike some more time-consuming activities--such as membership on law review or moot court--no one should be forced to decide between intra-school moot court and another law school activity.

But as I posted earlier, I agree with main contention quoted above: stellar moot court performance is preferable to simple membership on a secondary journal.

I didn't even know there was intra-school Moot Court. So when people have been saying LR >>> Moot Court, they are referencing intra or inter school? Or both?

[Alexandria]

Both, I guess? It's hard to say, bc schools handle them so differently. Like at mine (Michigan), all of the inter-school competitions are handled by separate groups (like the ACS, Jessup, etc.). You follow that student group's procedures to be selected for a given competition, and 1Ls are able to participate (unlike the intra-school competition). I understand that some other schools have an actual team that you join, and the team sends people to various competitions.

But at the top schools, the intra-school competition is the prestigious one. At lower ranked schools, I'm not sure... maybe the inter-school competitions are a bigger deal. It seems like it to me, based on what friends who have done the inter-school competitions have told me about how teams from lower ranked schools have way more support and preparation than they did, like getting credit for moot court and having an actual class to prepare them.

[reasonable_man]

To clarify the quoted post: participating in an intra-school moot court competition and being a member of the school's inter-school moot court team are very different activities. Unlike intra-school competitions, being a member of moot court requires more than just participation; it requires selection (i.e., being good at moot court) much like being chosen for a journal.

Intra-school moot court and any other activity in law school (including law review or a secondary journal) should not be mutually exclusive, either by mandate or in fact (i.e., because of time constraints). Thus, unlike some more time-consuming activities--such as membership on law review or moot court--no one should be forced to decide between intra-school moot court and another law school activity.

But as I posted earlier, I agree with main contention quoted above: stellar moot court performance is preferable to simple membership on a secondary journal.

I didn't even know there was intra-school Moot Court. So when people have been saying LR >>> Moot Court, they are referencing intra or inter school? Or both?

Both. Law Review is king. Secondary journals and Moot Court inter-school competition is Next and a down the line comes intra-school moot court. But frankly, Law review is way above all else in prestige points for firms..

[ggocat]

Both, I guess? It's hard to say, bc schools handle them so differently. Like at mine (Michigan), all of the inter-school competitions are handled by separate groups (like the ACS, Jessup, etc.). You follow that student group's procedures to be selected for a given competition, and 1Ls are able to participate (unlike the intra-school competition). I understand that some other schools have an actual team that you join, and the team sends people to various competitions.

But at the top schools, the intra-school competition is the prestigious one. At lower ranked schools, I'm not sure... maybe the inter-school competitions are a bigger deal. It seems like it to me, based on what friends who have done the inter-school competitions have told me about how teams from lower ranked schools have way more support and preparation than they did, like getting credit for moot court and having an actual class to prepare them.

Ah, very different. I go to a lower ranked school. There are only a few intra-school competitions, and they are open to anyone who wants to compete (you don't need to be selected by an organization). There's one "regular" intra-school moot court for 1Ls and one for 2Ls (and a few competitions for things like mock trial, counseling, negotiations, etc.). At the conclusion of the intra-school 2L competition, faculty members "draft" teams. Quite a few faculty members coach teams to compete at inter-school competitions. Inter-school competitors get a few hours of credit and prepare for months with the faculty adviser and other students. The inter-school competitions are definitely seen as a "bigger deal." The intra-school competitions serve as a feeder for the inter-school competitions (because the best mooters from the intra-school competition end up competing at the inter-school competitions).