Confession: back in NUS Faculty of Law, I was not a good mooter.

This was not for a lack of trying:¹
- participated in the Mallal Moots. Didn't go far;
- participated in the Advocacy Cup. Also didn't go far;
- applied for International Legal Process.² Didn't make the team.

So why would a lousy mooter-wannabe like me encourage law students to sign up for the Covenant Chambers LLC Equity & Trusts Moot 2025?

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1️⃣ The moot topic.

I believe that this is the very first Equity & Trusts moot that has been organised for students from Singapore law schools.³

From a coldly pragmatic point of view,⁴ this means that:

a) if you have yet to take an Equity & Trusts module - congratulations! Signing up for this moot means an opportunity to do a deep dive into a core module, and your hard work will increase your odds of getting a good grade in this module; and

b) if you have already taken an Equity & Trusts module - even better! This means you're already familiar with the subject matter, and won't have to spend as much time and energy away from your courseload to come to grips with the material and legal principles.

2️⃣ The pain is the point.

Some of you may be thinking:

"Ok yes I'm interested. But gosh it's so much work! On top of my heavy courseload! It's going to be so painful why would I do this to myself?"

First, the bad news: it's going to be painful, and sacrifices will need to be made. I'm not going to sugarcoat it.

But if we consider law school to be a training ground for a legal career, I suggest that signing up for a moot provides an opportunity to train various skillsets:
- juggling concurrent deadlines;
- judicious time management;
- taking a position and standing by it, even under fire;
- teamwork;
- oral advocacy;
and the list goes on.

Because let's get real - we learn by doing.

That being said, let's not take this too far. If you're really struggling with the courseload and are barely keeping it together, you may want to reconsider whether this is the right time.

But if you have a little spare capacity - consider challenging yourself.

3️⃣ The journey matters more than the destination.

I've shared openly about my lack of success at mooting. But I have zero regrets that I tried but failed to achieve those goals.

Because when I tried, failed, but found that I still had the desire to do the very thing I failed at...

...it brought home the point that disputes work was what I really wanted to do.

Nevermind whether:
- I'd be good at it;⁵
- I'd be paid well for it;⁶ or
- whether the hours would be long.⁷

So I'm thankful that I tried mooting, because the experience wound up being (a) an integral part of my career journey; and (b) more important than being selected for competitions or winning prizes.⁸

And here I am, almost 2 decades on, still enjoying disputes work.

So. Do it for the experience. Whether you think you can win something is secondary.