Welcome to the Griffith LSA 2019 Open Competitions page. The numerous expressions of interest I’ve received so far makes me confident in the quality of the 2019 competitions. Here you’ll find a sign-up sheet and a link to my email if you have any questions.
This year marks the first year of our Open Competitions Finals and Awards Night. The final open moot will be presented at this event, followed by the presentation of first and runner up teams in other internal competitions. This gives you the opportunity to not only build your advocacy skills, but to market them to firms pretty much directly. Coming into clerkship season, I think we can all agree this gives you an invaluable edge.
We look forward to having you participate in our Open Competition for 2019. I can’t wait to see all competitors throughout the trimester and hope to see you at our finals night.
- Eric Jeffery, VP Competitions 2019
Mooting
Mooting is essentially a mock trial format competition. Two teams of two individuals acting as junior and senior counsel (accompanied by an optional 3rd solicitor to help with research) will go head to head to argue differing sides of a fact scenario from legal principles.
To prepare for this competition, you will be given the facts and need to draft a written submission using the given template. You will then be given the chance to argue your submission in front of a judge who will ask you questions. This is the most esteemed competition to partake in both nationally and internationally and an experience highly sought after by employers in the legal industry.
Client Interview
Client interview is one of the other alternative dispute resolution competitions offered by the LSA. In this competition, your team of two will be placed in an interview format with a potential client. You will be tasked with building rapport with the client, finding the facts of the matter (including a number of secret facts), and finally offering a bit of advice based on the client’s situation.
To prepare for this competition, you will be given a short one or two sentence “email” from your legal assistant. This will give you a very brief outline of what the client said the issue was and will point you in the right direction of the law to research. Preparation for this competition is relatively minimal, with the majority of score being based on your teamwork and people-skills.
Negotiation
Negotiation is one of the most popular competitions the LSA holds. In this competition, two teams of two will negotiate an agreeable deal given a certain set of shared and secret facts. Each team will work towards getting the best outcome for their client, with points awarded based primarily on the team’s abilities to work constructively within their own team and with the opposition. In the Open Competitions, the scenarios will be constructed to test both your legal knowledge as well as your advocacy skills.
Witness Examination
Witness examination is the most challenging competition offered by the LSA. A deep understanding of the evidentiary principles underpinning cross-examination will be required to succeed in this competition. You will be required to examine the witness in order to uncover any and all information which may benefit your client.