Following a close and high-calibre final between students of Newcastle and Liverpool John Moores University, Daniel Boal and Joseph Beeney, representing Newcastle University, were presented with the Silver Mace and £1,000 each, as winners of this year’s Essex Court Chambers/English Speaking Union National Mooting Competition, held on 20th June.
It is the first time that Newcastle University has won the competition.
The exciting evening final, held in Court 8 of the Royal Courts of Justice, saw the Newcastle pair do battle with Marc Tyler and Abigail King of Liverpool John Moores University, arguing the fictitious legal appeal case, “Abacus PLC v Smithfield Motors LTD”. The two runners up were presented with the Scarman Shield and £750 each.
All finalists will be offered a mini-pupillage at Essex Court Chambers, with £1,000 also being awarded to Newcastle University and £500 to Liverpool John Moores in recognition of their students respective successes.
The final was judged this year by a panel chaired by The Rt Hon. Sir Robin Jacob. The other two members of the panel were Roderick Cordara QC and Martin Griffiths QC of Essex Court Chambers.
The competition, which is run on a knock-out basis, started with a field of over 60 teams. The semi-finals, held on the same day as the final, saw teams from the University of York (Sarah Harty and Daniel Dawson) and the London Metropolitan University (Charlie Tye and Jessica Gracie) win prizes of £250 each as semi-finalists.
Now in its 46th year, the competition is administered by an advisory board made up of senior lecturers in law from a number of universities, in conjunction with the English Speaking Union, and sponsored by Essex Court Chambers.
Registration for next year’s mooting competition will be open at the beginning of the academic year. Details can be found on the competition’s website at: http://www.nationalmooting.org/
