About Us
About Us
Real skills. Real people. Real legal practice.
Speed Mooting is a small, family run legal education organisation. Built by two practising lawyers who care deeply about preparing people for real life in the legal profession.
We're John and Hayley, a criminal barrister and a commercial solicitor, and we run Speed Mooting because we both remember how overwhelming the early stages of a legal career can feel.
Knowing the law is one thing. Working out how to break into the profession, where to focus your efforts, and how to build confidence along the way is another thing entirely.
Speed Mooting is a small, family run legal education organisation. Built by two practising lawyers who care deeply about preparing people for real life in the legal profession.
We're John and Hayley, a criminal barrister and a commercial solicitor, and we run Speed Mooting because we both remember how overwhelming the early stages of a legal career can feel.
Knowing the law is one thing. Working out how to break into the profession, where to focus your efforts, and how to build confidence along the way is another thing entirely.
What we do (and why we do it)
At its heart, Speed Mooting is about helping aspiring and junior lawyers build the skills that matter most once you move beyond textbooks and lectures.
For more than a decade, we’ve been delivering practical, practitioner led training through competitions, clubs, workshops, and events that focus on:
- confidence and professional communication
- advocacy and oral presentation
- thinking clearly under pressure
- commercial awareness and client-focused thinking
- employability and real-world legal insight
Everything we run is designed to feel realistic, supportive, and genuinely useful — whether you’re preparing for interviews, starting your first legal role, or simply trying to feel more confident in legal spaces.
Meet The Team
John Dove
Criminal Barrister | Founder, Trainer and Educator
John is a practising criminal barrister with over a decade of experience in court. He founded Speed Mooting in 2012 after seeing first hand how many capable students and early career lawyers lacked opportunities to practise key skills in realistic but supportive environments.
John is known for his practical and approachable teaching style. He focuses on clarity, structure, and helping people understand how legal work actually unfolds in practice, not just how it looks on paper.
Alongside running Speed Mooting, John continues to practise at the Bar, ensuring that everything we teach reflects current, real-world legal practice.
In his spare time John enjoys motor racing, watching WWE and visiting water parks around the world!!
Hayley Dove
Commercial Solicitor | Educator and Trainer
Hayley is a commercial solicitor with a strong focus on employability, commercial awareness, and professional development. She leads Speed Mooting’s commercial training and plays a central role in shaping the culture, structure, and community that sit behind everything we do.
Hayley works closely with students and early career lawyers from a wide range of backgrounds and is passionate about making the legal profession feel more accessible, transparent, and human.
If you’ve ever felt unsure whether you “belong” in legal spaces — Hayley understands that feeling, and Speed Mooting was built with exactly that in mind.
In her spare time, Hayley loves spending time with her ten nieces and nephews and escaping to a beach whenever she gets the chance!
Hayley Dove
Commercial Solicitor | Educator and Trainer
Hayley is a commercial solicitor with a strong focus on employability, commercial awareness, and professional development. She leads Speed Mooting’s commercial training and plays a central role in shaping the culture, structure, and community that sit behind everything we do.
Hayley works closely with students and early career lawyers from a wide range of backgrounds and is passionate about making the legal profession feel more accessible, transparent, and human.
If you’ve ever felt unsure whether you “belong” in legal spaces — Hayley understands that feeling, and Speed Mooting was built with exactly that in mind.
In her spare time, Hayley loves spending time with her ten nieces and nephews and escaping to a beach whenever she gets the chance!
Is Speed Mooting For You?
We’re very aware that the legal industry can sometimes feel intimidating, overly formal, or disconnected from real life. For many people, it can also feel like everyone else knows what they’re doing and you’re the only one trying to catch up.
That’s why we’re intentional about creating spaces that are professional but welcoming, structured without being high pressure, and challenging without being overwhelming. We want people to feel comfortable enough to try things out, make mistakes, and learn from them, because that’s how real confidence is built.
Our events and programmes are practitioner led, skills focused, and designed to help people grow steadily- not perform perfectly on day one.
If you’re looking to build confidence in legal settings, develop practical and transferable skills, understand how the legal profession really works, and learn in a supportive, down to earth environment, then you’ll feel at home here.
And if you’re just curious? That’s how most people start....
Learn more about how we support aspiring and junior lawyers at every stage of their journey:
Our Community Hub
Our free online space to connect, ask questions, access resources, and stay part of the Speed Mooting community between sessions and events.
The Legal Skills Academy
A structured development programme combining advocacy training, commercial awareness, and professional skills. Includes live sessions, guided practice, and a library of online courses to support your progress..
Events and Competitions
Practical, practitioner led events and competitions that give you realistic insight into legal practice and the chance to develop skills in a supportive environment.
