It is no longer a moot point. The verdict is in and Law students
from the University of British Columbia excel in national and in
international competition.
Three of six national moot competitions have been won by teams
from the university, and members of the teams have won numerous
individual honors. Two of those teams are now competing at the international
level.
Moot competitions, in which appeals from trial decisions are argued
on points of law, have sprung from internal campus contests to intense
and prestigious regional, national and international events.
UBC teams earned first place in Corporate/Securities and the Wilson
and Jessup national moot competitions earlier this year. The Jessup
team is currently competing in the international round in Washington,
D.C. The client counselling team, which won the regional competition
and top Canadian title, will compete in New Zealand from April 8-12.
“This unprecedented success is a source of tremendous pride among
the entire faculty and university,” says Law Dean Joost Blom. “It
is a result of hard work and talent but also the fact that we enjoy
enthusiastic support from the bench and the bar.”
Local judges and lawyers devote time to practice with and talk
to UBC teams, says Elizabeth Edinger, associate dean of Law. Practitioners,
who are former competitive mooters, have a tradition of passing
along their experience, she adds.
“For the students themselves and their coaches from the faculty
and legal profession preparing for moot competitions is very intense,”
says Edinger. “Mooters often miss classes and work through the night
in the Law library.”
For the members of the Wilson team it is well worth the effort.
Named for Justice Bertha Wilson the competition revolves around
charter issues of equality. In the final they argued against the
University of Toronto before Supreme Court Justice Louis Lebel on
the criminal code provision for the protection of private records.
“It’s as close as it gets to the real thing and winning both the
oral and written competition was a real bonus,” says Jason Kuzminski,
one of the team members. “It made it worth staying up for three
and four days at a time and giving up December break.”
Editors: Names of team members and photos are available.
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