Legal competitions

Our legal competitions are designed to enhance employability skills, particularly those expected of barristers and solicitors—eloquence, clarity and an ability to think under pressure.

Client Interviewing Competition

Getting information from a client is the first step of any lawyer-client relationship. Lawyers must gain a clear picture of the client's problem in order to give legal advice. This competition offers students the opportunity to practice this important skill which is essential for a career as a solicitor.

In most cases the client has little or no understanding of the legal implications of their situation. It’s the job of the lawyer, after establishing trust with the client, to define the framework of their legal position and advise them on how to address their problem. Getting the client's full cooperation is not an easy task, and requires strategy, team-working, caution and thinking on your feet.

The competition involves students (in teams of two) interviewing another student acting as a client, and is judged by members of academic staff. The winners of the (internal) competition represent the University of Leicester at the Regional, National and International Client Interviewing Competition.

Mooting competitions

Mooting is a very popular activity within the Law School, and all students have the opportunity to take part. Teams are provided with a legal problem containing awkward points of law and have to argue those points before a judge. One team member acts as leading counsel and the other as their junior. It's an experience like the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court.

We hold three internal annual mooting competitions and host the national Medical Law Mooting Competition and Canadian Law Mooting Competition. Our students can also compete nationally against students from other universities and we have won the ESU/Essex Mooting Competition (formerly the Observer Mooting Competition) more times than any other university.

Mooting helps you to develop essential skills that you will need to be a successful practitioner: identifying relevant points of law, conducting independent legal research, drafting skeleton arguments, preparing bundles and speaking confidently and succinctly. Even if you’re not intending to practise as a lawyer, these skills will be useful in any future career. We also hold demonstrations, workshops and training sessions to help students to hone their skills. Our competitions are sponsored by barrister’s chambers and law firms with which winners can receive work experience opportunities.

“I decided to get involved in internal mooting competitions and even spent a week in Vienna as part of the Vis Moot, an international mooting competition where law students from more than 80 countries congregate once a year in the Austrian capital to compete on an international commercial arbitration dispute.”
Amany, LLB 2021

The Negotiation Competition

The Negotiation Competition provides an opportunity to practise and improve negotiation skills. Most disputes involving lawyers do not end up in the courts. Instead they are settled by some form of compromise between the parties - a negotiated agreement. Lawyers are also often asked to advise on the way deals or transactions are set up. For example, what are the most favourable terms, what would be the best price, what penalties can be included for breach of contract? Getting the best deal for the client can often involve some skilful negotiation.

The competition involves students (in teams of two) going head-to-head to measure their negotiation skills. There is an internal competition where teams are selected to go forward to the Regional, National and International Competitions.