by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Florida Coastal School of Law doesn’t have a basketball team — or any athletics for that matter — but that doesn’t mean there aren’t hours of preparation, long practices and last-minute jitters in anticipation of team competition.
The action doesn’t occur on the court — instead, it’s inside the courtroom where the school’s moot court team competes with other teams from schools around the country.
“Moot court is like what basketball is to college athletics,” said Sander Moody, Coastal Law Professor and Moot Court Honor Board faculty advisor. “It’s competition, talented teams competing against each other.”
Moot court is an extracurricular activity for many law students and offers practical courtroom experience through simulated appeal and arbitration cases with pre-determined topics. Students prepare, write and present briefs along with oral arguments and are graded based on the competition’s presiding judges.
“It (moot court) gives schools the opportunity to present what they’re doing and test each other’s abilities,” said Moody.
In the past few years, Coastal Law’s teams have been passing the test.
According to Moody, in the last three and a half years, Florida Coastal has won 10 championships, advanced to the finals or semifinals 10 other times and won 32 “Best Brief” or “Best Advocate” awards. During the same time, Coastal Law teams have advanced from preliminary rounds in 26 of 31 tournaments.
“The program has grown significantly,” said Moody. “The team consistently excels in competition against other schools.”
More recently, the team reached the finals of the National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition in Chicago and the semifinals of the National Moot Court Southeast Regional in Atlanta.
For Coastal Law team members, practicing for and competing in such competitions is of immense value.
“It’s such a great experience,” said Jamica Littles, Moot Court Honor Board member. “It really adds value to the law school experience.”
Littles, a third-year(3L) Coastal Law student, is in her second year with the team and helped Coastal Law win the Zehmer Worker’s Compensation Law Moot Court Competition. She’s part of the team that will be competing at the Vis International Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria.
In her two years with the team she’s bonded with her “moot court brothers and sisters” as she calls them and has learned skills she’ll take with her in her career.
“Professionalism,” she said. “It’s extremely important, no matter the outcome.”
Natalie Trolenberg, like Littles, is a 3L Coastal Law student who has been with moot court for two years and is also on the Vis International team.
She currently serves as Moot Court Honor Board vice president and said she’s heard the school’s name being mentioned at competitions more and more often as the team has succeeded.
“I’ve definitely heard and seen more people take notice,” she said. “I’m extremely proud of the Coastal Law name.”
Trolenberg attributes the moot court experience to helping gain a better understanding of multiple areas of law she might not have encountered in her time at Coastal Law.
Participating in moot court is often a time consuming but worthy and beneficial experience, said multiple members, and keeping a balance between school work and moot court can often present a challenge.
“We (moot court team members) sometimes kid and say that law school gets in the way of moot court,” said Lisa De Long, a 3L Coastal Law student and Moot Court Honor Board secretary. “It’s a delicate tight rope to walk.”
De Long said that while being part of moot court is a time and emotional commitment, she “wouldn’t trade it for anything” as the experience has turned into a lifestyle and career changing opportunity.
De Long was a part of the semifinals team in National Constitutional Moot Court in Chicago and said that in the eight weeks of preparation, 38 practices were scheduled — time consuming but “something that certainly paid off.”
She will participate in the upcoming National Sexual Orientation Law Moot Court in Los Angeles in February.
In addition to the Sexual Orientation and Vis International competitions, the Coastal Law team will prepare for a National Sports Law Moot Court scheduled for February in New Orleans.
Matt Greer, a 3L Coastal Law student and Moot Court Honor Board member, helped the Coastal Law team reach the semifinals in the Sports Law competition this past year and has enjoyed his time with the team.
Being a part of the program has helped him gain depth in persuasive arguments and brief writing, he said, and the success is something that will help him while seeking out a job following his time at Coastal Law.
The thing he said he’ll take with him the most, though, can’t be put on a resume.
“The friendships,” he said, “will last a long time.”
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