Participating as a 1L

As a first year student our main priority is getting our work done for class. However, there are a lot of great opportunities that do not require great time commitments, for students to get involved in different aspects of the community. One way I did that was participating with different academic groups. My first semester I was a “witness” for a team participating in mock trial. They worked on the direct and cross examinations and possible objections they could raise. I received a packet with my script and met with the team twice before the actual competition. There was not a lot of prep time required on my part and it was a great way to have something productive to do between homework assignments.

I was also able to assist the Society for Dispute Resolution. The competition teams have placed in numerous national competitions in the last couple of years. So, when they needed volunteers to practice negotiations against, I was up for the challenge. At first it was intimidating to think I would have to negotiate terms against upperclassmen who had already competed, and taken classes on dispute resolution. But once I went in to the room, I realized it was something I had been doing for years; I negotiated curfew with my mom or a price for something with salesmen in New York. The upperclassmen were great about giving us feedback, even though the practice session was for them, not us. They also encouraged us to try out for the competition team in the spring.


Because the student organizations are run by other law students, we know not to overburden each other with excessive meetings or taxing work. Having an outlet of something other than Contracts reading to do is great; when it’s benefiting the law school community as a whole, it’s even better.

Carminia Munoz '11
New York, NY