Alex Jones and Stephanie Chen, representing Liverpool John Moores University, were presented with the Silver Mace and £1,000 each, as winners of this year’s ESU – Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition, held on 24th June.
It is the second time that a team from Liverpool John Moores University has won the competition; the first was in 2007. Liverpool John Moores University was also runner up in last year’s competition.
The exciting evening final, held at the Royal Courts of Justice, saw the Liverpool John Moores pair do battle with Henry Perrins and Jack Horlock from the University of Sussex, arguing the fictitious legal appeal case, “Puff Limited v Making Tracks Consultants Limited”. The two runners up were presented with the Scarman Shield and £750 each.
The final was judged this year by a panel chaired by The Rt Hon Lord Justice Beatson. The other two members of the panel were Sir Franklin Berman QC and Claire Blanchard QC of Essex Court Chambers.
Liverpool John Moores University emerged the winners in the competition, which is run on a simple knock-out basis, with a starting field of 64 teams. The semi-finals, which were held on the same day as the final, saw teams from the University of Salford (Thomas Reardon and Adam Gould) and the BPP University College (Olinga Tahzib and Camille Savinien) go out of the competition but with prizes of £250 each. Further cash prizes, generously donated by Essex Court Chambers, were presented to the finalists’ educational establishments: £1,000 to Liverpool John Moores University and £500 to the University of Sussex. All finalists were offered a mini-pupillage at Essex Court Chambers.
The winners, Alex Jones and Stephanie Chen, have one further opportunity to showcase their mooting skills. Every two years, the winning team of this competition is invited to represent the United Kingdom in the Commonwealth Moot. In April 2015 the 14th Commonwealth Moot will be held in Glasgow. Oxford Brookes, the winning team of the ESU – Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition in 2012, won the 13th Commonwealth Moot held in South Africa in 2013.
The competition has been running for 43 years. It is administered by the ESU, sponsored by Essex Court Chambers and supported by Legal Week as media partners.
Registration for next year’s mooting competition will be open at the beginning of the academic year.