Testimonial - Pokuaa Enin

Moot Court was without a doubt one of the greatest experiences of my undergraduate career. It's hard to explain why it was so great, but when you finish, you kinda feel like you climbed a mountain. No doubt it is A LOT of work...you have to know your cases like the back of your hand, and that means reading and re-reading until there isn't anything that anyone can throw at you that you won't have a response for. So it is a big time commitment but you'll find yourself wanting to spend that extra whatever to make sure that you are completely ready. In the event you get stumped on a question or something the opposing counsel says during a practice round, you can have something prepared for the next one. Which then leads me to the competition...Moot Court is fun. It's fun because it's you and your classmates, you all have the same stress, you all joke about how Moot Court is taking over your life...but then you get to get up and give your argument. And you have the opportunity to come up with the most over-the-top, legal-sounding argument to make your point. And maybe a "judge" will call you out for it and maybe they won't but half the fun is figuring out what you can get away with or what words you can twist to support your position. And it's even better when you're up against opposing counsel because for that moment – or maybe even all the time – you don't like them and you get the chance to shut them down. You really do feel that competitive edge and that is what helps keep it exciting. Is Moot Court hard work? Yes. Is it time-consuming? Yes. Is it boring? Never! Nothing in the class is ever stays the same, not arguments, presentation, or even partners. It might seem that everyone is going to say the same things because everyone has the same cases and is arguing for the same position but that's never the case. To illustrate the point, think of it like Juice It Up where there are the same basic ingredients but like 100 drinks on the menu and no smoothie tastes the exact same. You take away so much from the class. For some people, taking the class and competing was their chance to shine or to list on a resume. For me, it was confidence in public speaking and experience with persuasive speech. One of things I remember after competition was saying "I can't believe I was ever nervous for a job interview." I'm a really shy and soft-spoken person and I had to be forced every time to get up in front of the class, and I was terrified each time, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. If I hadn't been graduating in the spring, Moot Court would have been the first class I signed up for in the fall. Being able to go through the class and compete is so rewarding and so worth the effort.

-Pokuaa Enin, Moot Court 2009, CSUF Class of 2009