OULS Mooters win national competition

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mooting winners 2011OU law students win prestigious National Mooting Tournament 

The Open University Mooting team have won the ICLR National Mooting Tournament held at Gray’s Inn in London. Their opponents were a team from Exeter University, and the final, on Wednesday 30 March, was a re-match of the 2010 final when the OU were runners-up to the Exeter team.

 

Lord Justice Elias and Mr Justice Cranston judged the final, and had high praise for the advocacy skills of all four of the student mooters before them.  They argued their cases well and remained impressively calm under the fire of constant interjections and questioning from the judges.

 

The case before the moot court in the final concerned a disabled pensioner who brought an action in public nuisance against a property development company. Dust and noise pollution from the development of a block of flats had caused the pensioner to suffer from bronchitis and insomnia.
The Open University team had previously won rounds against Wolverhampton University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Nottingham Law School and Durham University to reach the final. The name of The Open University will now join Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter and others on the Mooting Shield – which will remain with the Law School of The Open University for a year.

 

The OU Senior Counsel for the moot, Dr Phil Zack, commended his team mates, saying, "we had a small team of students on the OU team, who rotated between speaking and non-speaking roles during the five rounds of the ICLR moot contest. I was fortunate to be chosen as lead advocate for the semi-final and final, but in truth, it was a genuine team effort. Each time we received a new moot problem, the whole team would contribute ideas on strategy, research cases we could cite, and act as sounding board for the speaking members for that round. Preparing for each moot contest was extremely stressful, and a huge amount of hard work. Just reading through a dozen or so law reports, each 30 or more pages of dense argument takes time - lots of midnight oil was burned and coffee drunk.

Winning the ICLR National Moot contest was a challenge and a great honour. But it was also an exhilarating and enjoyable experience. The team formed strong bonds of friendship (in adversity!). I would recommend any law students who are looking for a challenge to put themselves forward for the OU team next year."

 

Mooting at the Open University is currently managed by the OU Law Society (OULS) and anybody interested in becoming involved can join the society at www.ouls.org or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information. Membership of the society is open to all and will be free for the first year to anyone joining before 1st May 2011.