An innovative and comprehensive programme of lawyering skills at Kent Law School will culminate in a moot final to be judged by the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Reed of Allemuir.
The moot will take place online on Tuesday 27 April and will feature the School’s top four highest scoring mooters: Hena Pagoo, Isabel Van Der Hoorn, Henry Vine and Suhaib Zaino.
Kent mooters were due to compete in person at the Supreme Court in London in April 2020, but plans were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Law School had been one of only 12 in the UK to be selected (back in January 2020) to hold its internal moot competition final before a Supreme Court judge.
Darren Weir, Director of Lawyering Skills at Kent Law School, said: ‘While the pandemic has meant that the moot will be performed and judged virtually, it has in other ways opened up opportunities to engage more students and staff. Lord Reed and his judicial assistant will hold a virtual Q&A session after the moot. In addition to this we have been offered a virtual behind-the-scenes private tour of the space on Monday 26 April. It appears that tickets for this are unlimited to our students so we’re hoping for a great turnout.’
Mooting is part of a programme of lawyering skills at Kent and the Law School was quick to adapt its plans for the whole programme in response to the pandemic. A decision was made to ensure students would have access to additional ‘on-campus’ experiences from the beginning of the academic year in September 2020.
Under Darren Weir’s direction, capacity across all the co-curricular modules in the Lawyering Skills Programme were increased and a new module was created. As a result, approximately 400 law students have been able to develop their practical legal skills through their participation in the Programme.
This year’s Lawyering Skills Programme comprised five key elements: Mooting; Mock Trial Advocacy; Legal Argument and Oral Communication Skills (Debating); Client Interviewing; and Mediation and Negotiation.
There are plans to expand the Lawyering Skills Programme at Kent Law School even further for the 2021/2022 academic year.
President of the Supreme Court, Lord Reed of Allemuir