Mooting

What is mooting?

Mooting is the oral and written presentation of an argument on a legal issue or problem against an opposing counsel and before a judge. It is one of the closest experience that a student can have whilst at university to appearing in court and can be characterised as a legal debate.

What it isn’t

Sometimes it is mistaken for a mock trial, but mooting differs as it is accepted by all parties that the evidence has already been tested. Instead, a moot focuses on advocacy and the ability to argue the question of law, whereas mock trials exist to ‘test the evidence’ and establish the case’s facts before presenting them in a court of law.

Why should I get involved in mooting?

Mooting allows you to explore, argue and critique complex areas and arguments in law while testing your ability to voice those arguments in the most succinct and convincing way. Mooting is vital for learning how best to communicate the most complicated parts of law while making a strong argument for your perspective. Furthermore, gaining mooting experience can have a strong impact on your future career. The legal profession is an increasingly difficult one to enter, and almost all legal jobs demand that a candidate can provide evidence of their advocacy or mooting experience.

Mooting also helps to build confidence in public speaking, legal research, and presentation skills, which are vital in any line of work.

How is mooting done?

The Problem

A typical moot problem is concerned solely with a point (or points) of law. Normally it will take the form of a case heard on appeal from a lower court with the grounds of appeal clearly stated.

The Teams

A moot usually consists of four speakers, divided into two teams, each consisting of a leading and junior counsel each taking an individual point of law or appeal. One team represents the Appellants, the other the Respondents. Mooters may be judged individually or as a team.

The Moot Court, Roles and Structure

The University of York Law School has a moot court that looks like and reflects, as far as possible, a courtroom. The moot is presided over by at least one judge, who sits in an elevated position in the centre of the front wall of the court room. It is the role of the judge to listen to the arguments submitted, question them and deliver judgment at the end of the moot on the law and on the result of the moot itself. The presiding judge is supported by a clerk, who also times the moot speeches.

The two teams sit at separate tables, with the individual mooters taking turns to stand to present their arguments to the moot court. A moot 'speech' will typically have a time limit of between 15 and 20 minutes with the time paused for questions and answers from the judge. Mooters are required to maintain the appropriate courtroom manner when addressing the judge, remembering, amongst other things, to address the judge with the correct title, speak clearly and in proper English and maintain eye contact.

Mooting in York Law School

The University of York Mooting Society runs a variety of mooting activities and competitions, both internal and external, throughout the year. We begin the year with a welcome event where we run a ‘speed mooting’ workshop which will help both new mooters to develop their persuasive skills and returning mooters refine theirs. Throughout the rest of the year we run, workshops, and mooting training sessions, for both law and non-law students, to develop their mooting skills in order to compete in internal and external competitions. These sessions are incredibly useful in preparing competitors, particularly those that have limited or no experience in mooting. They are equally invaluable to those who may not necessarily be interested in mooting but in developing essential lawyering skills such as researching, legal writing, public speaking and constructing persuasive legal arguments.

A new addition to mooting at York for the year 2016/2017 will be weekly moots based on first year PBL problems. This will give all students the invaluable opportunity to practice their persuasive skills more frequently, but will be especially useful to those who are new to or less confident at mooting as it will allow them to refine their skills in a less competitive setting. For those who wish to moot competitively there are plenty of competitions, both internal and external, for students of all abilities and levels of experience to get involved in. Such moots include moots run by prestigious law firms like Bond Dickinson, moots run by chambers such as Dere Street, the Human Rights Speed Moot, varsity moots with Lancaster, the Maritime Mooting Competition and many more including some international competition

For any further enquiries on what we do or upcoming competitions, please email us at: mootingsociety@yusu.org