Oxford reaches Semi Finals of BPP National Speed Mooting Competition 2021
This year's BPP National Speed Mooting competition for undergraduate students took place on Saturday 1 May 2021, involving 80 registered mooters from across the UK. We are delighted to announce that Arthur Wong (BA Law, Lady Margaret Hall) reached the Semi Finals and Heather Ramsey (BA Law, St Hilda's College) reached the Quarter Finals of the competition.
The competition asked undergraduates to argue a randomly assigned side of a criminal moot problem. The court bundle was provided to competitors only a few days before the competition was due to take place, designed to replicate the common occurrence in practice when a barrister or solicitor receives a brief the day before trial. Mooters were principally judged on their advocacy skills, including courtroom etiquette and delivery.
This year's moot problem concerned the ability to consent to GBH, in a case concerning a doctor carrying out a voluntary amputation of a cricketers finger. Competitors were judges by a range of judges throughout the day, some of whom had direct connections to the 1993 case of R v Brown, which offered mooters a rare insight into an issue of direct relevance to the moot problem.
The rounds operated on a knockout basis, with each competitor either progressing onto the next stage or leaving the competiton. The competition was an excellent opportunity for students to work on their oral advocacy and the ability to think on their feet, skills that are essential in the fast paced environment of the bar.
Oxford's participation in the 2021 National Speed Mooting competition was kindly made possible by a generous donation from Blackstone Chambers.
Successful Oxford competitors: Arthur Wong and Heather Ramsey