St. Augustine Legal Affairs (STALA) Issue 2 | Page 34

WHITE & CASE, Phipip C, International Law Moot
Competition
JESSUP CUP

JUSTIN DWARIKA

prepare and present law orally,
as compared to a written exam;
Is mooting something Mooting is also a practical foyou would like to contin- rum which allows students inue?
sight into the life and role of
lawyers.
Absolutely, because mooting has
been a learning experience and If you had to sum up the
a one of a kind endeavour. I entire experience in one
would definitely like to build line, what would you say?
on the knowledge and experience
I have gained from the Jessup A competition of a lifetime
competition and further develop that showcases mooting styles,
myself in order to capture the culture, fun and friendship beessence of advocacy.
tween and among law students
throughout the world.
What are some of the
benefits of taking part in What advice would you
the Moot Competition?
give other students who
are interested in MootBenefits I obtained from partici- ing?
pating in mooting include;
The ability to stand up and Regarding the Jessup Moot
have a conversation with judges competition, interested mooters
about the issues at hand through should familiarise themselves
application of the requisite law; and understand international
The development of the skill set law as a whole and definitenecessary to draft memorials;
ly GET STARTED AS
Increased self-confidence and le- SOON AS the compromis/
gal writing skills;
fact pattern is released!! FinalA new perspective on law, as I ly, it is of paramount imporwas afforded the opportunity to tance that all mooters under-

stand the facts.
KINDA JACOB
How does the Law Faculty prepare you for this?
I don’t think you could ever really be prepared for an international moot, but thanks to the
law faculty we were not at a
complete disadvantage. We were
able to get personal training from
Mrs Roberts, we had a mooting
seminar, an internal moot that
gave us a taste of the real thing
and of course a tutorial room
was always made available to us
for afternoon practices.

Constantly reading the fact pattern and brainstorming with
anyone who would listen really
helped me to understand it. I
saw the fact pattern in a different light every time I read it.
What advice would you
give other students who
are interested in Mooting?

A lot of students in law are ‘interested’ in mooting, but few of
them actually pursue it, and my
advice to them is that they stop
making excuses and participate
in mooting in any way they can.
There is a lot to be gained from
mooting and contrary to popular
How did you feel when belief it would not interfere with
you were in front the your school work, if anything
judges?
it enhances your skills in legal
analysis and research which in
Terrified. I wish I could say that turn helps you to get that most
i wasn’t intimidated , but that sought after A .
would be a lie.
Any other comments?
How were you able to My only comment is that even
deal with and under- if you’re not successful the first
stand the Fact pattern?
time you moot in a competition
you should keep trying and