Briefing and Speaking in Public

I shy away from speaking in public. I'm naturally an introvert. Deep down it's an insecurity; not having the confidence to speak out when I have the chance.

Fortunately a well known teacher named Socrates confronted this problem head on and developed what is now known as the bain of law school students' existence: the Socratic method. Law school takes the Socratic method and applies to case studies and the concept of "briefing". It involves the students summarizing cases, focusing on the facts, the issues, and the courts reasoning for deciding the way it did.

In the first year of law school, everyone's a rookie when it comes to briefing. The first few students are really rough-edged. They're not sure what to focus on, they wonder what questions the "prof" will ask, and so forth. Some students fall on their face, figuratively, and I'm a little ashamed to admit it was entertaining.

My first encounter with Socrates' lovely concept came up in Constitutional Criminal Law. The prof asked us to divide into teams. She gave us a scenario, we were representing the defendant. I blurted out my defense strategy to my team. They agreed and decided I'd be representing us in front of the class. What??!! I didn't sign up for this! I was just giving my input!

Nevertheless, my team had made it's decision. Then came the icing on the cake: our team was called first. I stood up, legs shaking, and rattled off the legal principles as to why my client's Constitutional rights had been violated. I honestly had no clue what I was doing. I simply used my limited knowledge of the law and tried my best to apply it to the facts at hand.

Then came the rebuttal. The other side used an incorrect legal reasoning. The prof pointed this out, laughter ensued. For the moment, I had managed to squeak by without criticism from the prof. It was the first time I stood up in class and put myself in a vulnerable position.

Throughout the rest of first year I briefed twice more. I was just as nervous. Every first year student focuses on being perfect, not trying to miss anything. The first year profs understand this and graciously go along with it.  During your second year, it's all about learning to be concise. Say it in 4 words instead of 10. This is a hard concept for law students to learn.

After 2 years of having to brief cases out loud in class I still get nervous. But I've learned to prepare beforehand, reminding myself that being detail-oriented is not the point. Can I discuss the facts, issues, and result in 5 minutes or less in an informative manner? A successful second year student can....