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Mooting


What is a Moot?

A moot is a mock court proceeding in which two pairs of advocates argue a fictitious legal case in front of a judge. Students aim to make the best presentation of their legal arguments. Each advocate has a set time to present their argument, rebut those of his or her opponent, and answer questions asked by the judge. Points are awarded for advocacy skills, quality of argument and legal research – even if the law is against you.

Mooting develops a range of professional skills including; analysis, interpretation, argument and public speaking. Mooting is also a great way of meeting new people, developing teamwork skills and, if you are successful in the international competitions, exploring the globe. 

There is an active mooting community at King’s with students from The Dickson Poon School of Law regularly taking part in national and international competitions. 

About Mooting at the School

The School also supports our many Student Society led moot competitions meaning that students have numerous opportunities to practice their oral advocacy.

Mooting is overseen by the School’s Director of Mooting and supported by the Student Experience Manager. Current students can find out more about current moots and how to get involved on our intranet / KEATS Professional Law pages.

The Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot

The Dickson Poon School of Law is very proud to offer students from across the world the opportunity to participate in the Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot. The competition is generously sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills, one of the world’s leading law firms.

Teams are invited to submit memoranda which will be marked by competition law academics and practitioners. The 12 teams with the highest marked memoranda will be invited to an Oral Round. The competition provides an excellent opportunity for students to practise and improve advocacy skills in front of a judging panel drawn from international competition law specialists.

The Moot organising team is closely monitoring developments globally in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore the final decision regarding the Oral Round’s venue is being kept under review. More information will become available the latest by Spring 2023. If conditions allow, we hope that the Moot will take place fully in-person in London. 

Scholarship

The Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot is delighted to offer one scholarship of £2000 to pay towards the costs of participating in the Oral Round for student members of a team from a University in a Medium or Low HDI Country (based on the UNDP Human Development Index). This scholarship will be awarded to the student members of the team with the highest score in the Written Round and which qualifies to participate in the Oral Round.

With thanks to our partner Concurrences, temporary access to its database will be granted to all participating teams in the period of drafting the written pleadings. Team members from the two finalist teams will also be awarded with a One Year Subscription to Concurrences’ database and a selection of ebooks.

2023 Competition timeline

Publication of the problem question

20 December 2022

Registration opens

20 December 2022

Deadline for registration

20 January 2023

Deadline for requesting clarifications

3 February 2023

Publication of clarifications

24 February 2023

Deadline for submission of written pleadings

14 April 2023 (23.59pm UK time)

Announcement of finalists

28 April 2023

Oral Round 

16-17 June 2023
Registration

Registration will be open from 20 December 2022 until 11.59pm GMT on 20 January 2023.

Problem Question, Rules & Final Report – 2023

Problem question will be published soon (Clarification updates, if any, will be added on 24 February 2023)

Read the 2022 Rules (rules for 2023 will be updated in due course) 

Read the 2022 Final Report

Contact

If you have any questions about the Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot, you can contact the organisers at HSFLCMoot@kcl.ac.uk, or follow the competition on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.