National Mooting Competition

ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition

The ESU Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition is one of the most prestigious mooting competitions in the UK, and is open to any institution with an undergraduate law programme in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The competition gives law students from universities throughout the UK the opportunity to gain experience in their future roles as advocates. Over 50 universities take part each year.

The ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition is the longest-running mooting competition in the UK. Since 2000 it has been sponsored by Essex Court Chambers. The magazine Legal Week acted as media partners for the 2008-09 competition.

Manchester triumph in National Mooting Competition

The team from University of Manchester is the winner of this year’s ESU - Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition. It is the first time that this university has won the coveted silver mace.

Hannah and Karamvir with the mace.

Karamvir Chadha and Hannah Gates competed against Jayne Brayley and Aimee Hutchinson representing University of Sheffield in the exciting evening final, which was held in the President’s Court of the Royal Courts of Justice last night.

The ESU – Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition, which is now in its 37th year, attracted entries from 62 teams for this year’s competition.  The final of the competition was judged this year by a panel chaired by Michael Collins QC.  The other judges were Richard Jacobs QC and Professor Alan Boyle.

Karamvir Chadha, whose family live in Birmingham, explains why he enjoys mooting: “Mooting puts the law I learnt on my degree into context. It's a chance to use legal knowledge to solve 'real' problems. Mooting and this competition has provided us with a great opportunity to develop our legal research skills and oral advocacy.”

Canadian Hannah Gates, whose father and sister brought forward their planned visit to England from Lantzville, Vancouver island to support her in the final, was delighted with her and Karamvir’s victory:
“We've been through three years of law school together, so winning the ESU – Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition together has been a really nice end.  Studying the law can be very dry, but when I actually apply the law to very practical situations in mooting, it reminds me why I'm in law school in the first place.”

In a moot, two pairs of 'advocates' argue a fictitious legal appeal case in front of a 'judge'.  To win, you do not necessarily have to win the legal case, but must make the best presentation of your legal arguments.

The winners received a silver Mace and a prize of £1,000 each. Their university, Manchester, received a donation of £1,000.  The runners up received “The Scarman Shield”, £750 each and the University of Sheffield received £500.  For the second time in the competition, the other semi-finalists did not go home empty handed but received cash prizes of £250 each.  The cash prizes were generously donated by Essex Court Chambers where all finalists will also be offered a mini-pupillage.

The competition is administered by the ESU, sponsored by Essex Court Chambers and supported by Legal Week as media partners.

University of Hertfordshire Victory in National Mooting Competition 2007-2008

The team from the University of Hertfordshire is the winner of this year’s ESU - Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition. It is the first time that the university has won the coveted silver mace.

Winners of the 2007-2008 National Mooting Competition

Daniel Berger and Beverley Cottrell beat off Tom Devlin and Oliver Phillips, representing City University, in the exciting evening final, which was held in the President’s Court of the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the 26th June.

The ESU – Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition, which is now in its 36th year, attracted entries from 62 teams. The final of the competition was judged this year by a panel chaired by Lord Steyn, who was joined by Richard Millett QC and Dr Martin Lau.

Winner Daniel Berger who comes from London, was jubilant:
'As an aspiring barrister still in the first year of my undergraduate law degree, winning the final and, in particular, meeting Lord Steyn, was truly the most thrilling moment of my life.'

Winners of the 2007-2008 National Mooting Competition

His team partner Beverley Cottrell, who lives in Meldreth, near Cambridge, was also delighted with the achievement:
“Mooting has been a lot of hard work but very rewarding.  We’ve had superb support from all the members of the University mooting team and we are delighted to bring the mace to the school of law at St Albans for the first time”.

In a moot, two pairs of 'advocates' argue a fictitious legal appeal case in front of a 'judge'.  To win, you do not necessarily have to win the legal case, but must make the best presentation of your legal arguments. In this year’s final the Hertfordshire duo were speaking for the respondents, whilst City acted for the Appellants in the complex but fictional problem Spicey Ltd v Strong Arm Security.

The winners received a silver Mace and a prize of £1,000 each. Their university, Hertfordshire, received a donation of £1,000. The runners up received “The Scarman Shield,£750 each and City University received £500. For the second time in the competition, the other semi-finalists, (Nicholas Pointon, Waleed Rasramani, Stephen Donnelly and Andrew Gray) did not go home empty handed but received cash prizes of £250 each.

The cash prizes were generously donated by Essex Court Chambers where all finalists will also be offered a mini-pupillage.

The competition is administered by the ESU, sponsored by Essex Court Chambers and supported by Legal Week as media partners.