22 June 2010
Success is moot point for law duo - Graduation Tuesday June 22nd
(Jessica and Marc will be available for photos around the Graduation ceremony this afternoon - please contact the Press Office to arrange)
A pair of Law students at the University of Dundee will celebrate their graduation today (Tuesday June 22nd) by trying to argue and persuade their way to success in a major national competition.
Newly qualified (Scots Law) First Class Honours graduates Jessica Flowerdew and Marc Proudfoot will graduate from the School of Law at a ceremony in the Caird Hall in Dundee today.
They will then turn their thoughts to the semi-finals, and hopefully final, of the English-Speaking Union’s Essex Chambers National Mooting Competition, to be held in Dartmouth House in London on Thursday, June 24th.
The competition is the largest and oldest of its kind in the country, receiving entries from teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the Observer Moot, it has a tradition of attracting the very best legal brains as its judges and producing the next generation of them from its competitors.
Jessica (21), from Lanark, and Marc (22), from Dumfries and Galloway, have progressed through the competition by beating teams from the likes of University of Strathclyde, University of Newcastle and then, in the quarter-finals, a team from Sheffield Hallam University.
'This is a competition with a very high standard and one which is extremely useful in testing the students’ skills as they prepare for their future careers,' said Mrs Betty Bott, Director of Legal and Professional Development in the School of Law at Dundee.
'The students are required not only to show their skill in handling legal materials, but also their ability to practise the art of forensic and persuasive argument in a concise and effective manner. It also enables them to gain confidence as advocates in a courtroom setting.
'As the eloquence and standard of advocacy skills escalates - so, too, does the complexity of the points of law at issue and the nuances of legal argument. This is the first time that Dundee University has reached the semi finals of this competition and we wish Jessica and Marc all the best in the Competition ahead of them.'
Having argued and persuaded their way through cases whose subject matter range from contraventions of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to the law concerning murder, manslaughter and provocation, Jessica and Marc’s next challenge is to face a team from BPP Law School and a moot problem relating to 'Equity and Fiduciary Duties'.
'This has been a fantastic experience and it really does feel getting a taste of what day-to-day life will be like for us in our future careers,' said Marc.
Jessica added, 'It has been a real challenge combining this with our final-year studies as there is a lot of work to be done on constructing your arguments and making sure you are as best prepared as you can be. But then that is the kind of challenge that would face us in professional life, so it is good to have come so far in the competition while also successfully completing our studies.'
Both Jessica and Mark are hoping to return to Dundee after the summer to study for their Diploma in Legal Practice.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The competition is sponsored by Essex Court Chambers, who are supporting the exhibition for the tenth year running. Essex Court Chambers is one of the country’s ‘magic circle’ commercial barristers’ chambers.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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