25 January 2008

Law students set for international counsel

A pair of Law students at the University of Dundee are heading to India this Spring to represent Scotland in the international finals of a major counselling competition after recording a unanimous win in the national heat.

Steven Blane and Bruce Langlands, both studying for the Diploma in Legal Practice at the School of Law at Dundee, won the Scottish Client Counselling Competition staged at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.

They are now set to head to Bangalore in India in April to compete against teams from all over the world in the international finals of the event.

The client counselling competitions test prospective lawyers' awareness and ability in the counselling and interviewing aspects of legal practice, which are key skills for all lawyers. Steven and Bruce, who were coached by lecturers David Brand and Lynne Mannion, had to conduct two separate interviews in which professional actors played the part of clients with a problem on the general theme of human rights.

This human rights theme will be continued in the International Competition.

Steven and Bruce will be hoping to repeat the success of a Scottish team from Glasgow who triumphed in Florida in 2002.

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