Michaelyn Thomas

Michaelyn Thomas

1 What year did you participate and who was your teammate?

 

December 2006 (Western Regionals) and 2007 (Nationals in Norfolk, VA).  Will Glaser was my teammate from Patrick Henry.

 

2 If you have graduated and moved on, what do you do now and how did moot court help you for your future?

 

I graduated in May of 2007 and I have been working for the Boeing Company since August of 2007.  I work in the Integrated Defense Systems sector specializing in government and commercial Satellites.  I am currently working in the Contracts department, which involves finance and contractual law.  I interface with high ranking government employees, finance personnel and several attorneys.  In addition to being a Contracts employee, I have been named President of a Southern California Boeing Business Skills team which incorporates leadership with public speaking.

 

Moot Court has developed my public speaking skills tremendously.  My job description includes, having to present PowerPoint presentations frequently.  Personnel who I interface with, expect clear, concise answers and explanations.  In addition, I often pitch proposals to internal and external customers.  By doing so, I have to defend and argue in a professional manner to obtain my goal.  Moot Court prepared me to begin with ambiguous information and to consolidate to make believable and credible arguments.

 

While I was taking the Moot Court class, I had a heavy work load in conjunction with several other classes.  If Moot Court does not teach you anything about Constitutional law or public speaking, then upon completion of the course, you will have mastered time management.

 

3 What is your fondest memory about moot court?

 

Building relationships with students across the Nation and maintaining those contacts.

 

4 What was the best thing about moot court?

 

You feel extremely smart.  The positive feedback that is received from your Moot Court coach, and the judges of the competition, encourages you to strive for excellence.

 

5 What was the worst thing about moot court?

 

Not being prepared.  In the beginning stages of the course, your thoughts and arguments are not well developed.  When doing practice rounds, nervousness sinks in.  However, it is an experience that everyone must go through in order to develop their arguments.

 

6 What do you miss about moot court?

 

The people.  Everyone from your school is very supportive.  And the coach is intensely involved with you.  The coach invests so much time in the moot court students, that the students become top priority.

 

7 What tournaments did you compete in and what were they like?

 

Western Regionals 2006 – Very intense.  This is was my first competition and I was nervous.  But because this was the regional competition, it is more relaxed than Nationals.

 

Nationals 2007 – This felt very “official” because the top 64 teams in the nation were competing for the National title.  It was a good feeling just to compete, because only the good teams got invited.

 

8 What advice would you give future mooters?

 

The main thing is to be extremely confident with what you say.  If you deliver your argument well and make it sound believable, that is fortunately half the battle.

 

9 Who was the BEST mooter you ever saw?  What made him or her so good?

 

I am not sure if I can pin-point one person.  However, a good mooter has three qualities:

  • Confidence
  • Spectacular public speaking skills
  • Knowing how to use judge’s questions to help their case.

 

10 Why should someone consider moot court?

 

If you are considering Law School, this course is a must.  If you are not considering Law School, but want to improve  public speaking/writing skills, this course is still a must.  My job relies heavily on public speaking and writing.  I can say that Moot Court has a strong influence in my occupation everyday.