Were you a debater in High School? Ever compete in Public speaking competitions or Mock Trial? Wondering what will be your next step?
The Law Students Society runs many competitions that are a natural extension of those that you may have participated in or heard about over the course of your secondary education. This year at Wollongong University, we are running six internal competitions; Senior Moot, Junior Moot, Women’s Moot, Negotiation, Client Interviewing and Witness Examination.
Each competition is designed to test particular skill sets required of those in the legal profession, and success in each is highly regarded by peers and law firms alike.
Students who compete will interact with judges from both within the UOW Law Faculty, Legal Profession and Senior Competitors.
Participation in any of these competitions is not dependent on your past experience with public speaking centered tournaments. Each tournament is distinctly catered to law students, and as such, what is required from each competitor is almost entirely different from that required of debaters and public speakers.
For our 2022 Spring Competition Calendar, click here!
It is true that participating in competitions can be quite time consuming. Mooting in particular involves quite a significant commitment, with preparation for each moot equaling the amount of time spent on your average mid semester assignment. It can also be quite intimidating at first, speaking before your peers and a judge – but these drawbacks are far outweighed by the advantages of a career in university advocacy.
- It cements your knowledge of the law and is great revision
- Looks excellent on your CV (employers like to see students who get involved)
- Develops skills required for a future in the legal profession
- Mooting and making a presentation to a judge may be a required assessment later in your degree (LLB 2230)
- It develops your ability to communicate and argue about the finer points of law
- Great way to meet and build relationships with your peers and make connections with older students and lecturers
- Competition finalists are frequently sponsored to compete at the Australian Law Student’s Annual Conference and in inter-varsity competitions
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact either:
Paxton Hewitt – Vice President (Internal Mooting Competitions) internalmoots@uowlss.net or
Nikala Speed – Vice President (External Mooting Competitions) externalmoots@uowlss.net or
Michael Brandon – Vice President (Skills-Based Competitions) skillscompetitions@uowlss.net
There are extremely popular competitions in both junior and senior years. Teams of two or three will be given a problem question in which they will be required to argue one for of the parties in front of a judge.
There are three internal mooting competitions at UOW, the Junior Moot (1st and 2nd year students), the Senior Moot (3rd year+) and the Women’s Moot.
This competition is the first of its kind in Australia, and will return in 2021. This competition will focus on the skills required of legal graduates to prepare documents for, and present in court, in bail or sentencing matters. This competition will have a strong practical focus and help you get your head around crucial legislative provisions and principles.
In Client Interviewing, a team of two lawyers interviews a potential client in order to understand their legal situation, and suggest some possible areas of future action by both the client and lawyer. The trick of client interviewing lies in the interviewer’s ability to obtain all relevant information from the client, identify possible ethical issues and communicate effectively with their partner.
In the Negotiation Competition, two teams consisting of two ‘lawyers’ each appear on behalf of hypothetical clients to consult with each other in an attempt to achieve a compromise and resolve issues between the two parties. Teams must both make concessions and hold their ground, depending on which areas of the proceedings are flexible and which are important to their client. Points will be awarded for each person’s ability to cooperate, communicate and attain as advantageous a position as possible for the person, group or corporation they are representing.
Can you handle the truth? If so, we would put it to you that the WitEx competition is for you!
As a competitor in Witness Examination Competition, you will act as counsel in a mock court scenario, where you will examine and interrogate two witnesses in order to provide a clearer answer to a particular legal problem, by revealing the “facts”, and persuading the judge in favour of your version of events. One competitor acts as counsel for the Prosecution and the other acts as counsel for the Defendant. You will examine two witnesses: one witness of the prosecution and one for the defence. The competition is recommended for those who have completed Evidence Law, however, this is not a pre-requisite.
Teams from across the country come to UOW to participate in the UOW Intervarsity Criminal Law Moot. Teams of two to three students moot a criminal law case on appeal and develop their criminal advocacy skills. UOW enters two competitively selected teams in this competition, and Grand Finalists are adjudicated by a three-judge panel, including UOW’s Judge in Residence, Terry Buddin SC.
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Nikala SpeedVice President (External Mooting Comps)
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Paxton HewittVice President (Internal Mooting Comps)
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Michael BrandonVice President (Skills-Based Comps)
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Holly StathakisComp Coordinator (Internal Moots)
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Lily CooperComp Coordinator (External Moots)
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Hayden LeeCompetition Officer
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Jacqueline WilsonComp Coordinator (Skills-Based)
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Jessica PereiraCompetition Officer
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Lucy SteelCompetition Officer
Nikala Speed
Nikala Speed
Paxton Hewitt
Paxton Hewitt
Holly Stathakis
Holly Stathakis
Lily Cooper
Lily Cooper
Hayden Lee
Hayden Lee
Jacqueline Wilson
Jacqueline Wilson
Jessica Pereira
Jess Pereira