In early summer 2010, a couple of my students asked me to coach them for the mock KFTC trial competition where major law schools participated. At first I tried to decline it, as I knew very well that the competition will demand so much time and energy from my students at the level that they had never imagined. But their enthusiasm overwhelmed my hesitance, and I took on coaching the mock trial team. Soon I found that my students had the special competitive edge that other teams did not: they were so good at working with people as well as working on papers! They were compassionate, cooperative and communicative; they efficiently shared information and ideas among themselves in a variety of ways, on- and offline; they enjoyed working together and encouraged each other in hard times; and all the experts that I invited for the training of my students were deeply impressed by their warm hospitality and enthusiasm. I got the conviction for a victory, and, after months’ tears and perspiration, my students finally won the special prize defeating some major law schools. But that was not the end of the story. As my team wanted to pass down their know-how to other students and help them repeat the victory in the coming years, they established the Economic Law Society, an official Sookmyung student club. It meant that I had to coach the mock trial team again this year. Last year’s victory put so much burden on me, and I was not sure whether the 2011 team was as good as the previous one. But, again, I found that the new team had the same competitive edge despite some differences. The new team knew that they should do more than simply repeating their predecessors’ strategies. They tried their best to innovate upon what the previous team had accomplished, and it turned out to be the right choice. At the competition we were amazed by the fact that several teams tried to imitate our previous team’s tactics. As we made progress way beyond that, we sensed some possibility of another victory. And the outcome surpassed everyone’s expectation. We defeated so called “SKY” law schools and were ranked fifth, even higher than last year. Now the Economic Law Society is preparing for the recruitment of the 2012 mock trial team. But it does not put as much burden upon me as last year. I am confident about the special competitive edge of our students: they are not only good at working on papers, but also at working with people; plus, they can innovate upon the accomplishment of their predecessors. Once they realize it, they will certainly aim high and, at the end of the day, surpass everybody’s expectation. I hope the repeated victories of the mock trial team could inspire Sookmyung students to the realization of their full potential. Aim high, ladies!
