Competitions
The Law School offers diverse opportunities in advocacy both within the curriculum and as extracurricular activities. There is also a summer elective that allows five students to compete in the prestigious global moot, the Jessup International Law Moot (noting that this elective unit is not offered every year). The unit involves participating in the Australian rounds of the competition in February each year. These national rounds are held in Canberra, though have been conducted remotely during the COVID era.
In addition to the advocacy training and requirements within the curriculum, students have the opportunity to participate in a number of internal and external competitions.
The internal competitions are organised by the Tasmania University Law Society (TULS) and cater to a range of experience and competency levels. Students have a chance to practice various legal skills, including mooting, client interview, negotiation, and witness examination. Similarly, the range of external competitions are of varying difficulties and cover various subject areas. UTAS teams have regularly enjoyed success - the 2020 Administrative Appeals Tribunal Moot team won 1st place, and most recently in 2021, the UTAS team finished as semi-finalists in the Championship Moot during the Australian Law Students' Association (ALSA) National Conference.
Internal Competitions
The Internal competitions are held in May and the Grand Final is usually held at the Supreme Court. They consist of various competitions, including Junior Moot, Senior Moot, Negotiations, Witness Examination, and Client Interview. For the latter three events, the Internal Competitions also serve as the selection process for positions in the UTAS delegation to the annual ALSA National Competitions held between the first and second semesters.
Advocacy workshops
TULS is running an advocacy workshop in semester one, for anyone considering participation in one of the competitions or for those beginning their first assessed mooting unit.
Junior Competitions
First and Second Year Students are able to participate in internal junior competitions. Due to the subject matter of these competitions, aside from the Junior Moot, the Negotiation Competition is the most accessible competition for these year levels. However, junior participants may still compete in the Client Interview and Witness Examination if they wish to do so. The Junior competitions are designed to be an opportunity to discover the world of law competitions. They also provide the opportunity to meet other law students and professionals in a collegial environment.
Senior Competitions
These are for students in their last three years of their degree. Senior participants may compete in any of the competitions, except for the Junior Moot.
Intervarsity Competitions
UTAS teams have achieved outstanding results in a number of intervarsity competitions. In addition to the competitions during the ALSA Conference, we have also participated in the following competitions (noting that UTAS does not enter teams into all the competitions every year)
- Sir Harry Gibbs Constitutional Moot
- Castan Centre Human Rights Moot
- Administrative Appeals Tribunal Moot
- Baker and McKenzie National Women's Moot
- Gender Identity + Sexuality Law Moot
- ANIMAL MOOT (Australia and New Zealand Intervarsity Moot on Animal Law
- Jessup International Law Moot
- UNSW Private Law Moot (sponsored by Allen & Overy)
- Alfred Deakin International Commercial Arbitration Competition
In addition to mooting, there are also essay competitions where students submit their written work on set questions. Examples include the Governor-General's Prize and the Sir Anthony Mason Essay Competition.
Congratulations to our ALSA Teams!
The ALSA Championship Moot team (pictured) achieved a semi-final placing, with Zack Stephenson achieving 2nd Place in Best Oralist for Preliminary Rounds. Meanwhile, the ALSA Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Team finished as quarter-finalists and received awards for their written submissions.
