1L Moot Court

November 14, 2018

On Friday, March 25, 2016, BYU Law’s Moot Court Team congratulated the winner of its annual 1L competition. Kempton Cox was named best oralist, and Andy Hoffman won runner-up. Other finalists included Jacob Crump and Elise Faust.“The most rewarding part of the competition was proving to myself that I could present reasonably coherent and persuasive arguments,” Hoffman said. Handling how to deal with pressure was something both competitors dealt with throughout the competition. “I would get really nervous before every round. I would tell myself that I was allowed to be nervous right up until the moment before standing up in front of the judges, but that the second I got up, I had to be completely calm. It was a hard mental game,” Cox said. Both competitors felt that competing in the 1L competition was a valuable experience, and something that will benefit their future legal careers. “The 1L competition was a great opportunity to practice verbalizing legal arguments,” Hoffman said. “The type of extemporaneous thinking required in the competition helped develop analytical skills that will certainly prove beneficial.” “The judges’ feedback will prepare me practically for my career, but I think the experience itself will prepare me just because it was a confidence-booster,” Cox said.  “Surviving something that for me was hard helps me think that I might actually have what it takes to be an attorney.”