How do professional baseball players get to be the best that they can be? Answer: by pursuing the PPP Rule. How do professional tennis players get to be the best that they can be? Answer: by pursuing the PPP Rule. How do fighter jet pilots get to be the best that they can be? Answer: by pursuing the PPP Rule. How do attorneys get to be the best that they can be? Answer: by pursuing the PPP Rule.
You may be asking yourself or speculating as to what the PPP Rule could possibly be, and you may be curiously contemplating what a baseball player, a tennis player, a fighter jet pilot, and an attorney could possibly have in common that would ultimately conjoin them with such a rule as the PPP Rule. The answer to this potentially perplexing riddle is actually quite simple. Before baseball players can consider themselves to be the best they can possibly be, they will have spent countless hours honing and perfecting their skills both on and off the baseball field. Similarly, in order for tennis players to attain that same degree of success, they will have spent countless hours of repeated activity both on and off the tennis court. Fighter jet pilots wouldn’t consider themselves to have attained the pinnacle of flight skills without having spent innumerable hours inside a classroom, in a flight simulator, and in an actual fighter jet, repeating the complex maneuvers required of an elite master of the skies. And attorneys wouldn’t consider themselves to have achieved professional superiority without having first repeated those skills needed to enable them to face the expected and the unexpected confrontations to which they will be constantly exposed both inside and outside a courtroom.
By this time, you likely have reached the correct conclusion as to the commonality each of the above persons shares in the pursuit of ultimate achievement. The PPP Rule is, of course, Practice, Practice, Practice. Without pursuing the dictates of this rule, none of the above persons would be able to claim that they have become the best that they can be.
The Journey of the Student
A student of the law, whether it be on the high school level, the college level, or the professional school level, enters a new world that, at first, certainly appears to be complex, confusing, and filled with conflicting and contradicting substantive and procedural principles and rules. At the outset of the journey to competency, and in the hope of attaining excellence, the student of the law must first seek to attain a comfort level with the basics to be confronted and then gradually seek to achieve mastery over those basics. It is only once this mastery of the basics is attained that one can then attempt to advance to the next level of competency. It is similar to learning how to fly an airplane. One must first master the basics of flight before advancing to the skills needed to effectively and capably control a supersonic jet fighter.
Where do you begin the long journey to excellence? How do you achieve the level of success that you desire? The answer is found in the statement that proclaims that “Every journey begins with but one small step.” In the area of law, that small (yet formidable) step begins with a tedious and detailed study of the principles and rules that comprise the law. One must master these principles and rules before being able to use them effectively. Studying the law at the high school and college levels requires an introduction to what the law is, an overview of some of the basic rules of law, and an examination of how the law is implemented to achieve its intended purpose. This exposure to the law can also be supplemented by an introduction to the practical application of the law by an initial demonstration of the skills utilized in presenting issues to the court, whether that be before a trial court or an appellate court. This can be accomplished by the use of mock trial procedures, albeit on a basic and introductory level; the result to be achieved here is perhaps more that of developing, in the student, an interest in the law rather than a proficiency in it.
The student may need a stimulant to develop an interest in the law, a stimulant that can be introduced by those who have already developed that interest. It is in this regard that we, as established attorneys, have an opportunity to give back to society something of significant value. We can become coaches for these students and introduce them to the experience of mock trial activities. Doing so will be instructive and productive for them and will provide them with an introduction to the real world of courtroom practice. Alternatively, we can serve as judges for student competitions or activities during which constructive suggestions and recommendations can be provided to the students to assist them in improving their performance and/or becoming more comfortable in their involvement with the law.
It is in the doing that one becomes proficient; theoretical knowledge of the law alone is often not enough. When a student develops an interest in the law to the extent that he or she is driven to secure a seat in a law school, it is not enough that the student acquire a deep and detailed knowledge of the principles of law. The student must also acquire a knowledge of how the law works in practice. In this regard, it has often been said that when the student graduates from law school after long and labored years of study, that student may well know the rules of law but does not know what to do with them. In other words, book law does not necessarily equate with real law. To become proficient in the law, the student must also acquire the skills needed to effectively apply the law. Yet, often, the student is exclusively preoccupied with learning the rules of law and is less concerned with learning the skill of applying the law. It is only after graduation from law school and successfully defeating the challenge of a bar exam that the newly ordained attorney realizes that a precious opportunity has been overlooked or missed. This opportunity is found in being a member of the law school law review and participating in moot court experiences. As a participant in moot court activities and competitions, the law student will be provided with an opportunity not only to apply the principles of law that he or she has learned in the classroom to specific fact patterns involved in a dispute; the student will also be able to learn the skills needed to effectively present a dispute to a court for determination. If conducted properly, the student will be exposed to the rigors of the interaction between judge and counsel, will be taught how to effectively “think on his or her feet,” will be encouraged to develop and present cogent, well-organized arguments in support of his or her position, and will have an opportunity to develop courtroom skills and demeanor that will lead to a successful career in the law. The student is on his or her way to becoming a competent advocate.
As important as it is for the student to learn and develop the skills that will be needed in pursuit of the journey to becoming an effective and successful advocate, that journey requires the guidance and oversight of professionals who have already learned their lessons and who have experienced the intricacies of the legal fray. It is up to us, as seasoned attorneys, to provide the guidance that these students will require during their development, and while it is recognized that we exist in a confrontational and many times combative forum, we still owe an obligation to society to provide and develop competent colleagues whose obligation it is and will be to protect, preserve, and pursue the rights of the members of that society in the future. This obligation can be well served by our participation in moot court activities. Whether we serve as coach, mentor, judge, or otherwise in connection with moot court, we can and should provide assistance to the students in their journey down the path to the future. That should be our commitment; that will be our legacy.
