Finding the balance between Online and in person Moots
As with everything in life recently, we are rediscovering the wonders of working, meeting, and spending time with one another in person again. Over the past two years, the Rosamund Smith Mooting Competition was only able to run online, so when I joined the Middle Temple last July, I was able to see the 2021 Final: the first Moot back at the Inn. It then posed the question, should we continue to use the new online format, or go back to 100% in person?
Positives to Online Mooting
The online Moots brought many positives to light, and it was something everyone had become very accustomed to. The most obvious being that it is much more straightforward to organise. Arranging 32 Moots into two weeks becomes a much more manageable prospect when they are all in Zoom break out rooms! There is also a lot to be said for perfecting the art of online advocacy, as it looks to become a more regular part of a barrister’s life, and what better way is there to learn it than by online Mooting?
It makes us more connected too. Hall Members and Benchers were kindly able to volunteer to judge the Moots from far and wide, and from the comfort of their own home or chambers, which takes a lot of time and pressure off. The same can also be said for the students taking part in the competition, and the timekeepers who volunteered. I can’t imagine how it must have felt for the students in the first round who would have joined their Zoom call to find Master Dominic Grieve was their judge! Similarly, in round two, when the former Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland, Master Declan Morgan, was able to judge an online Moot. Both experiences, daunting as they may seem, would have been incredibly exciting!
So, with all that in consideration, we decided the initial rounds of the competition would be run online, and it worked. A major positive which I did not anticipate was, with Covid-19 still lurking, judges and Mooters occasionally had to self-isolate, and if they were still healthy, they could participate safely from home. When they could not, finding replacement judges and making last minute rearrangements was easier! This only happened a handful of times but meant the timetable of the competition was kept intact.
But it’s good to be back at the Inn
With all that said, we didn’t want to detract from the fun of a real-life Moot, so from the third round onwards we were back in person. Mooting is a whole different experience when you are standing up, in front of a judge and the other side. There are a lot more considerations, but this means there is a lot more to be learnt. It also allows the Mooters to come to the Inn and meet our brilliant members and socialise after the Moot.
Throughout April and May, teams progressed through the rounds, Mooting in person. My personal highlight was how often I was told that deciding on who should win had been incredibly difficult, because the levels of advocacy were just that high!
In June, we had both Semi Finals in Hall. The first was judged by the Master Jonathan Baker, Master Frances Judd, and Master Martin Chamberlain, with a Moot problem on Family law. The second Semi Final saw Master Chamberlain reprise his role, joined by Master Mary Stacey and Master Rowena Collins Rice presiding over a civil problem. Both Moots were fantastic displays of advocacy, followed by a lovely dinner in Parliament Chamber, one of the best things about being back in person!
Thanks and Congratulations
The Rosamund Smith Mooting Competition can run so smoothly thanks to the work of the Masters of Moots; Master Martin Chamberlain and Master Angus McCullough, the Middle Temple staff, and above all, the Moot setters. A massive thank you to all of those who judged a Moot (and in some cases more than one!) both online and in person, to our timekeepers who kept the Moots running smoothly, and to the authors of those challenging problems.
Congratulations to all Mooters who took part in this year’s competition, the feedback from judges was all very positive, and to those who progressed to the later stages of the competition. It is a tremendous achievement.
Huge congratulations to Ellen Dean, James Sinclair, Tayla Dwyer, and Matthew Kingswell who are this year’s Rosamund Smith Mooting Competition 2022 Finalists! They will be back in Hall on Monday 24 October 2022 for the Final.
Alex joined Middle Temple in July 2021, taking on the responsibility of the Rosamund Smith Mooting competition and the student Advocacy Weekends, as well as some post Call training courses.
