To Moot or not to Moot: A Law Student’s Guide to Extracurriculars
Naheed Jafary
Whether you are a first year or final year, the main advice everyone seems to be hearing is to join extracurriculars. Usually this advice is followed by the question “what extracurriculars?”
Monash Law offers a wide range of extracurricular opportunities, and each initiative allows students to work on developing different skill sets. They are also great to add to your CV. Some programs may be better suited depending on what stage of your degree you are in.
While not a detailed account of every extracurricular available at Monash Law, here are the ones you are most likely to come across.
Monash Street Law
Run in collaboration with the Monash Law Faculty and Monash Law Clinics, the Street Law program aims to increase community access to justice through organising legal workshops in schools, community centres, and refugee resource centres. The program offers a unique opportunity to put your classroom learning into practice, by simplifying legal concepts and presenting them in an accessible way to people who are often unfamiliar with those areas of the law. Throughout the year, you receive guidance and support in the form of practice workshops, as well as having the support of two deputies who are often previous participants of the program. This means you always have someone to go to if you have any questions. The program is an amazing opportunity to develop your legal research, communication and teamwork skills, while getting the opportunity to work with students in various years of their degree.
Accessibility for First-Years: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Time Commitment: ⭐⭐ (workload does increase closer to workshop dates)
Best for: First and second year students who want to gain real-world experience in the law before they have completed more substantive units.
Monash Law Ambassador Program
As a flagship program run by the Monash Law Faculty, the Law Ambassador Program gives you an opportunity to make connections with students across all years of the degree, and focus on how a particular area of the law intersects with contemporary social issues (e.g. law and mental health, law studies and legal practice, law and equality). Throughout the program you will attend various workshops and events, where you meet legal professionals across all stages of their career, hear from their experiences and gain some insight into how you can optimise your own law school experience. This part of the program also includes an in-person workshop at the Baker McKenzie office in the Melbourne CBD, giving you insight into their recruitment process and how you can become a stand-out clerkship applicant.
As part of the program, you also work within a team to develop and deliver initiatives surrounding your chosen social justice issue. At the end of the program, each team participates in a showcase where you have the opportunity to highlight your work throughout the year, to be judged by professionals from the legal industry.
Accessibility for First-Years: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Time Commitment: ⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Students between second year and penultimate year.
Just Leadership Program
As an initiative of the Monash Law Students’ Society Social Justice & Equity portfolio, the Just Leadership program is a prestigious and competitive program which hosts seminars focused on a range of contemporary social justice issues, from the perspective of industry professionals. Previous speakers in the program include the Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG, Professor Gillian Triggs and Julian Burnside AO KC. The program provides a unique opportunity to network with, and learn from, accomplished professionals, giving you an insight into legal practice before you even step into a firm. In addition, you will undertake a group project throughout the entire program which relates to one of the eight seminar topics.
Accessibility for First-Years: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Time Commitment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best for: Students between second year and penultimate year.
Monash Law Students’ Society Competitions
Mooting
Probably the most heavily discussed of all law competitions. Advocacy, public-speaking and time pressure all rolled into one. For a moot, you are presented with a fact scenario and the associated legal issues, and your team of three will then compete in mock trial against another team. Mooting is well suited for those who are able to quickly formulate arguments and communicate them clearly. You will be rewarded for your legal research skills, but even more so, how you draw on relevant case law to develop a compelling argument.
Monash Law offers several mooting competitions. The First Year Moot is the perfect opportunity to test out the waters and see if mooting is for you, while being reassured that you are also competing against other first-years with the same experience as you.
Accessibility for First-Years: ⭐️⭐️ (dependent on the specific competition)
Time Commitment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: The First Year Moot is best for students wanting to get their first experience in mooting. Other events are better suited for later year students, however younger students keen to develop their mooting skills against more experienced competitors shouldn’t be dissauded.
Client Negotiations
This is my personal favourite of the competitions. If you are great at problem solving, bluffing and finding a middle-ground, try out negotiations. You are given a set of shared facts, as well as confidential facts only known by your client. Your role is to achieve the objectives of your client as closely as possible, without fully knowing the objectives of your opponents. This involves strategy, people skills and, at times, the ability to strategically deploy the truth.
Accessibility for First-Years: ⭐️⭐️
Time Commitment: ⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Students in their second or third year, with some knowledge of core legal units, however not in the tail-end of their degree with limited time for participating in competitions.
Client Interview
One of the more accessible of the law competitions. You are given a brief introduction to your client, and the possible area of the law you will be advising them on. Your role is to obtain as much information from your client as possible, however your client’s role is to make this as difficult as possible. For those who have worked in customer service or retail, the ability to be patient comes in very handy.
Accessibility for First-Years: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Time Commitment: ⭐
Best for: Students in any year looking to develop their soft-skills, issue spotting and capacity to analyse legal issues.