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Moot victory for University of Bristol
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Bristol University is the winning team in this year’s ESU - Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition. Tom Shepherd and James Weale beat off Julius Komorowski and Fiona MacDonald representing University of Glasgow in the exciting evening final, which was held at the Royal Courts of Justice. This is the third time the University of Bristol has taken the prize in the history of the competition.
Now in its thirty- second year, the competition was judged by a panel chaired by Lord Millett (recently retired Law Lord) and including Professor Vaughan Lowe (Chichele Professor of Public International Law at Oxford and door tenant at Essex Court Chambers) and Bernard Eder QC (a leading commercial QC from Essex Court Chambers).
A jubilant Tom Shepherd says:
”This is the most prestigious moot we’ve ever competed in. To stand up in the Lord Chief Justices Court in front of such an eminent bench with the likes of Lord Millett as Chair was just fantastic. It is unlikely that we will have such an opportunity for many years to come even if we do successfully fulfil our ambitions at the Bar.”
James Weale adds:
“We are extremely grateful to the ESU and Essex Court Chambers and for the support we have received from Bristol University. Mooting is excellent preparation for any advocacy career as well being very enjoyable and an opportunity to meet and compete with other university teams.”
Bernard Eder QC explains why Essex Court Chambers supports the mooting competition:
“The activity of mooting is outside the scope of a student’s regular academic studies but it is a discipline we are pleased to foster through this sponsorship. We believe that by encouraging young lawyers to hone their advocacy skills at an early stage we are effectively investing in the future of the Bar.”
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 Bristol duo was speaking for the appellant and Glasgow for the respondent tackling the complex but fictitious problem of International Machines for Business ltd v Thames Bank plc .
The winners received a silver Mace and a prize of £1,000 each. The University of Bristol received a donation of £1,000. The runners up received “The Scarman Shield”, £750 each and the University of Glasgow received £500. The cash prizes were generously donated by Essex Court Chambers where all four finalists will also be offered a mini-pupillage.
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