C. FEATURE – OSGOODE PRE-LAW MOOTING PROGRAM
Osgoode Cup Mooting Competition Nurtures the Art of
Advocacy
By Virginia Corner
Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School
When 23-year-old Queen's University student Dan Vertlieb participates in
Osgoode Hall Law School's Osgoode Cup National Undergraduate Mooting
Competition on March 5 and 6, it will be his first mooting experience.
The fourth-year Arts student, who has applied for admission to the Bachelor
of Laws (LLB) program at Osgoode and is waiting to hear if he has been
accepted, sees the moot as "a means of experiencing what Osgoode Hall
Law School is all about while awaiting the decision of the Admissions
department."
What's more, says Vertlieb, who will team up with three best friends to form
the Queen's University entry, "a weekend in Toronto in this type of
competitive yet friendly atmosphere just sounded like fun."
The Osgoode Cup, which takes place over a weekend at Osgoode Hall Law School
on the campus of York University in Toronto and is sponsored by the law firm
of Beard Winter LLP, is a mooting competition open to undergraduate students
who have an interest in law.
This year's competition will feature 12 teams from different Ontario
universities, and will be judged by a panel consisting of Superior Court
judges and Osgoode Dean Patrick Monahan. In 2006, the Osgoode Cup will become
a national competition and, thanks to the generosity of sponsors, students
from outside Ontario will receive travel bursaries to enable them to
participate in the competition.
"The Osgoode Cup is a fun way for students with an interest in law to
get a taste of what it is like to act as lawyers in an appeal before real
judges," is how Monahan describes the event.
According to Osgoode Professor Janine Benedet, director of Osgoode's Mooting
Program, mooting is an important component of a well-rounded legal education
because it gives students hands-on experience in arguing an appeal in a case
specially designed to challenge and develop their oral and written advocacy kills.
Competitive mooting brings together students from law schools across Canada
and the United States. Osgoode students participate in many mooting
competitions every year, often placing first or second. In April, 2004, a
team of Osgoode students won the Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot
in Vienna, Austria, which featured 136 entries from 42 countries. It was the
first victory by a Canadian team in the 11-year history of the moot. In
January of this year, an Osgoode team made the finals and placed second in
the Canada-wide Mathews, Dinsdale and Clark Labour Arbitration Competition.
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"A winning mooting team needs to be well-prepared so that they can answer
any questions the judges may throw at them," Benedet says. "The
ability to respond to the matters that are troubling the judge is important.
Judges also look for teams that are well-organized, clear and that can manage
their allotted time."
First-year York University student Sarah Mohamed, who is majoring in History,
will also be participating in this year's Osgoode Cup as a member of one of
several York Pre-Law Society teams. The Pre-Law Society at York provides
support and resources to students who are applying - or thinking of applying
- to law school by offering such things as mock Law School Admission Tests and
seminars on how to apply to law school.
"I haven't done any mooting yet but I have heard a lot about it," says
Mohamed, who is 17 years old. " That's one of the reasons why I was so
excited to hear about this competition, because I would finally have a chance
to try out mooting."
Lawyer John Olah of Beard Winter LLP, sponsor of the Osgoode Cup, is an
Osgoode graduate, as are a number of his partners in the firm. He says
Osgoode imbued them with "a passion for law and for excellence" and
they felt a need to give something back to the community as lawyers.
"We believe that advocacy is a great calling and Beard Winter LLP is
proud to support and be able to nurture the art of advocacy through the
Osgoode Cup National Undergraduate Mooting Competition."
For more information about the Osgoode Cup, please contact Osgoode's
Admissions Office at 416-736-5712 or admissions@osgoode.yorku.ca.
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