Kent Law School's first Civil Advocacy Competition has been won by student Ebun Adeniran, who took the top prize of £100 and a trophy.
The competition took place in the Mooting Chamber of the new Kent Law Clinic Wigoder building on 18 January 2018.
Final year student Ebun Adeniran was said to have demonstrated considerable composure and persuasiveness before a mock Court of Appeal with ‘Lord Justices’ Champ, Austin and Laleng sitting.
Each student had 15 minutes to address the court with a two minute reply.
In their case, one side stood to gain or lose a lot of money because of a failure to provide evidence about it within a time limit set by the court.
The reason for that failure was in part because of a solicitor’s mistake. The issue was whether it was fair to excuse that mistake or not. The scenario raised questions about the extent to which people were expected as a matter of law to monitor the work they had entrusted to their solicitor.
The heats for the competition began in November with presentations described as ‘excellent’. Both finalists were said to have thoroughly researched their topics and remained resilient under pressure.
The competition’s sponsor, Boys & Maughan Solicitors, said that with fierce competition for pupillages and training contracts, mooting is an essential experience, particularly for students who want to become barristers or solicitor advocates.
In addition to the courtroom experience a number of experienced lawyers and recruitment decision-makers attended the competition so the students could network, pitch for jobs and seek careers advice.
Ebun is photographed with the judging panel:-
- Matt Champ, a non-practising barrister and Chartered Litigator and Advocate at Boys & Maughan, organised the competition.
- Jonathan Austin, a recently retired District Judge who was on the Kent Circuit
- Per Laleng, a former personal injury barrister who now lectures at Kent Law School and is its Director of Mooting.