Mooting is a long established tradition at Queen Mary. Our students are very successful in external moots, such as beating over 70 other universities to win the coveted Oxford University Press Moot 2014. We also host our own competition, the George Hinde Moot, which has run for over 40 years.
Mooting is the verbal presentation of a legal issue or problem. It's an exercise designed to give students the closest experience to appearing in court.
The main event overseen by the Mooting Society is the internal George Hinde Moot. This is open to students from all years of the law school from complete beginners trying out their legal advocacy skills for the first time, to more experienced students. The competition is comprised of six rounds with all students progressing to the second. Alongside the actual moots, students are invited to take part in workshops and receive feedback on their performances.
The society now offers informal mooting opportunities that run parallel to the George Hinde Mooting competition. These are discrete moots that allow students to gain some experience and practice in mooting away from the pressures of competition. We also offer a more diverse range of topics in these moots to help stretch student's perspectives on contentious issues in different areas of law.
Many experienced lawyers are involved with mooting as part of their pro bono work. Contacts involve academics who judge earlier rounds, barristers who participate in workshops and judges such as Sir Stanley Burnton, Lord Hoffman and Lord Leveson.