DWF sponsors Lord Jones Mooting Competition for second year

The intervarsity competition will be held on Saturday 27th January 2018 at the Scrymgeour Building at the University of Dundee. Teams of law students from universities across Scotland will compete against each other to win the opportunity to undertake work experience at DWF, as well as a host of other prizes.

The competition was launched by the University of Dundee Mooting Society in 2016. It was initially titled the Scots Inter-Varsity Mooting Competition but was renamed in honour of the late Lord Jones, a Dundee graduate who was instrumental in founding the competition.

Mooting competitions involve a mock legal debate in front of a judge with competitors arguing each side of a legal problem. Law students prepare and argue their side of the case in the same format as a real legal hearing and mirroring the formal legal processes of an actual court.

The law students will tackle a Scots law problem, preparing both sides of the argument before being given a side to advocate on behalf of in each moot. The teams will moot numerous times throughout the day with the best teams progressing to the semi-finals and then the final round later in the afternoon.

The rounds will be judged by Herbert Kerrigan QC, Claire Mitchell and Karen Richmond, who are all returning as judges from last year. Lord Ericht will be judging the final round.

Wayne Lawrence, executive partner for DWF’s Edinburgh office, said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Lord Jones Mooting Competition 2018. It is a great event which gives young legal talent the opportunity to learn from their peers, sharpen their advocacy skills and network with other legal students and legal professionals. We look forward to seeing what this year’s teams will bring to the competition.”

Chris Taylor, of the organisers of the event the University of Dundee Mooting Society, said: “We are looking forward to once again hosting the Lord Jones Mooting Competition. The competition is now in its third year and continues to go from strength to strength, with three universities entering for the first time and all previous teams returning to compete for the trophy.

“We would like to thank DWF for sponsoring the event and continuing to support mooting in Scotland. Work experience placements are the ultimate prize for law students and I am sure the winners will find their experience with DWF in Edinburgh very valuable.”