Monday 16th November saw the first Speed Mooting competition hosted by the Bar Society. Competitors were provided with their moot problems and skeletons two days in advance and came armed and ready with their 5 minute speeches.
The standard of advocacy in the competition was extremely high. Our two judges, Alan Johns from Maitland Chambers, and Nkumbe Ekaney QC from Albion Chambers, and Bristol alumnus, both commented on the ability of all competitors to think on their feet, with some responding very eloquently to the hard and fast questions posed in judicial intervention.
The four heats produced four finalists; Joe McBrien, Joe Docherty, Lucy Bennett and Christina Chambers. They were sent away with only half an hour to prepare their final speeches, which is no small task! Through the nerves and time pressures, each gave a very impressive speech and managed to again tackle the questions fired by our judges.
Our congratulations go to Joe McBrien, who successfully fought off the opposition and judicial questioning to win the competition, being presented with the award sponsored by Maitland Chambers. Thank you to all who competed, to our sponsors, to our judges and to the UBLC Mooting Team for their assistance.
The Mooting Academic Advisor, Sofia Galani, would like to congratulate the Bar Society, led by our final year student Emma Woods, President, and our second year student, Lily Walker-Parr, Vice-President, and supported by our second year students, Saskia Wolters, Elliot Evans and Doug Collins, on organising such a professional event. Following on from last year’s success, when the Bar Society won Law Careers.Net’s award for ‘Best Society for Aspiring Barristers’ sponsored by Inner Temple, the Bar Society has demonstrated its commitment to organise new exciting events and assist their fellows in enhancing their advocacy skills.
For more information on the Bar Society’s activities, please visit: http://www.bristolbarsociety.com