My Speed Mooting Competition Experience

Ahead of the Speed Mooting Plea in Mitigation Challenge session and their upcoming Bail Application Competition, I wanted to tell everyone about my experience of taking part in their recent Plea in Mitigation Competition. This is in hopes that it will settle any nerves for those who may be thinking of taking part in an upcoming Speed Mooting event!

The competition itself was in a fantastic format for those that will need to prepare work to a deadline.

Receiving the bundle the night before at 6pm was both exciting and challenging. It allowed for the opportunity to work under a time pressure which can be the reality of practicing law, therefore giving an insight into the life of a legal practitioner. It also offered a whole different style of advocacy, which at any stage of your legal journey is always beneficial. The general consensus among professionals and students is that you are never finished learning new techniques and skills.

As a personal anecdote, I competed with the expectation that I would be utterly overwhelmed. This wasn’t the case at all! As part of the competition, all the materials were sent to everyone. The competition itself also allowed for invaluable feedback for practitioners some of which I utilised during my qualifying sessions.

For anyone that is undertaking any form of advocacy, whether that may be a competition or a practise session, I have three main top tips.

1. Plan Ahead - I found it particularly useful for my argument to be in a structured layout. Not only this, I found that it was much easier to formulate a cohesive argument if I had planned what I was saying.

   Some form of script aids cohesion for me but everyone works in their own way for advocacy. The key is finding out what works for you.

2. Speak slowly and persuasively - there is absolutely no point in rushing through your points because realistically no one will be able to actually note down what your argument is and give your any useful feedback if they cannot understand you.

3. Understand the law - I cannot emphasise this enough, if you do not understand what you’re discussing there is less chance that you will be persuasive, instead you have to try not to seem confused (which I am aware is difficult if you don’t understand the actual basis of your argument.)

I would genuinely say get involved and enjoy the experience - Becca!