Bond University High School Mooting Competition
On May 16th, we were very fortunate to represent Mac.Rob in Bond University’s National High School Mooting Competition. Mooting is an opportunity where students are able to act as legal representatives to a hypothetical legal scenario. These scenarios are designed to be legally ambiguous, thus allowing both parties to present a reasonable argument about how the law should be interpreted and applied for our respective client. Mooting is a very unique experience as it is different to debating in the sense that judges are able to interrupt speakers to question, seek clarification or counter your argument. So whilst nerve wracking in the moment, definitely a very fun and fresh experience!
Over several weeks in preparation for our Moot, we analysed the given case, looking for interpretations of wording, questioning why our client undertook the actions she did, and asking ourselves, what more or what else she could have done. Not only did we break down the case, we strategically linked such analysis to relevant sections of the Civil Liability Act 2003 (QLD) in order to form an array of arguments best preparing us for our Moot. Alongside this, we scoured through two cases most similar to our case that were heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court, picking up details and comments to strengthen our arguments. Whilst we did encounter challenges at times in understanding the wording, it was really great discussing with the team on what would be our strongest argument going forward. As the last few days counted down until the official competition date, we worked on overcoming the nerves through lots of practice and questioning, getting used to how a judge would question us during the Moot.
Before we knew it, the day had finally arrived. We entered the Moot with feelings of nervousness and excitement. Ready to give it our all, but more importantly enjoy the moment. Whilst there were a few questions that were quite tricky to answer, we were able to work together to give the best answer we could. Overall, we were super proud and happy with our performance and no matter the result we knew that we had such a fun time.
Though we did not make it to the final, it was such a surreal experience to participate in this Mooting competition, and definitely a highlight that will never be forgotten. We had learnt so much and had gained so many skills regarding Mooting, we know that this will definitely be an opportunity that we would love to participate in again.
Congratulations to Pin Qi, who was awarded an Honourable Mention for Advocacy!
We would just like to say a massive thank you to Mr. Corr for his support and for providing us with the opportunity to represent Mac.Rob in this competition. His guidance throughout has played a huge role in best preparing us for our Moot, without it we would not have had as much fun as we did!
Amanda, Ananya and Pin Qi