Future lawyers tap legal resource

By: Jessica McCann

Posted: 2/5/07

Texas A&M may not have a law school, but some students still get legal experience through the Legal Education Group for Future Aggie Law Students (LEGALS) in moot court and mock trial.

On Jan. 20, A&M students Samsam Jama and Jennifer Lackey were recognized by former Attorney General John Ashcroft and Regent University Dean of the School of Law Jeffrey Brauch for placing in the top 16 of 64 teams in the country at the American Collegiate Moot Court Association National Competition at Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Va.

"This was my partner and my first year to work together," said Jama, a senior international studies major and vice president of moot court. "In the past five or six years, LEGALS hasn't been so highly ranked or had so many qualifying teams go to higher competitions."

A&M qualified three teams to compete at the national competition, out of 14 teams who advanced from the regional tournament at Texas Tech Law School. Other A&M teams that competed at nationals included Shane Gilroy and Andrew Kerr; and Jessica Everhart and Sky Brown.

"One thing that makes us different from the other teams is that we've taught ourselves how to present in front of a court or judge, while they have coaches and sometimes hire attorneys to teach them procedures," Jama said. "We already have a reputation that gives us a new respect for training our members on our own time."

LEGALS reproduces legal proceedings through fictitious cases, and members learn real world courtroom skills. Moot court involves arguing in a Supreme Court setting, while mock trial imitates a criminal trial argued in front of a judge.

"We're following the structure and systems that are currently in place in the law books," Jama said. "The objections and motions that we use are the same ones you'd see in an actual courtroom today."

The organization is designed to instruct and prepare students, as future lawyers, in the type of logical reasoning required for law school and professional school, and LEGALS experience puts Aggie law school applicants ahead of the pack, Jama said.

"Because of LEGALS, not only am I prepared for law school, but I am already state-recognized and nation-recognized in the skills expected of a first-year law student," said Jama, who plans to start applying for law school in the fall.

Jody Rodenberg, a senior sociology major and a former LEGALS member, has already been through the application process and is awaiting notification from her top law school choices.

"I think, more than anything, participation in mock trial or moot court either reaffirms someone's decision to pursue law school or causes them to change their mind about going into the profession," Rodenberg said. "I've seen parts of real trials, and mock trial was definitely more dramatic than the cases I've experienced. Being on mock trial wasn't a significant factor on my applications, but I did include being on a team in my personal statement."

The membership of LEGALS is around 55 students, but not all members are able to compete. LEGALS is entirely student-run and does not have an administrative adviser. For this reason, LEGALS is not a University-authorized organization and remains largely unfunded by A&M. The annual budget of LEGALS is $1,000, compared to many other organizations' $15,000 operating budget, Jama said.

"We were very fortunate to get some of our nationals expenses funded by the Honors Department and by the Student Activities Fee, but we each had to purchase our own airplane ticket, which cost more than $300 a piece," Jama said. "We're hoping that with more members and more students who want to compete, we'll get the administration's attention for Aggies who are interested in law."