Lawyering Skills
Mooting, Negotiating, and Client Interviewing
Mooting, negotiating, and client interviewing are key elements of law students’ legal skills development. In a rapidly changing legal climate, the ability to effectively negotiate out of court settlements, to apply practical solutions to complex legal issues, to advocate on the pressing issues of our times, and to understand a client’s needs are vital skills for a career in law. Whether you intend to qualify as a solicitor, a barrister, or an advocate in another jurisdiction, the experience and skills you will acquire at Buckingham will prove to be invaluable.
What is mooting? What does negotiation and client interviewing entail for law students?
Mooting tests students’ written and oral advocacy skills. Students take the role of counsel on either side of an appeal on a legal issue in a fictitious court-case, submit a summary of their arguments along with supporting documentation to the judge of the moot, and then present their arguments orally before the judge, answering any questions the judge may have on their submissions. Moots are usually judged by legal professionals.
Negotiation exercises and competitions take the form of students representing two parties in a fictional case involving either a dispute or an opportunity to collaborate. Students are provided with confidential instructions from their ‘clients’ and are given a fixed amount of time to negotiate a beneficial outcome for all parties involved whilst maintaining their duties to their ‘client’.
Client interviewing sees students taking on the role of a lawyer meeting a potential ‘client’ (role-played by volunteers) for the first time and requires students to ask questions to uncover the extent of the legal issues the ‘client’ is facing, building trust and establishing an appropriate course of action.
Mooting, negotiations, and client interviewing are some examples of the experiential learning opportunities that Buckingham law students have to apply their learning to practical scenarios throughout the course of their law degrees.
Are mooting, negotiation, and client interviewing part of the LLB curriculum?
All students undertake the Legal Skills and Procedure module in their first year of study. This introduces the art of advocacy and negotiation and gives all students the opportunity to participate in one moot and one negotiation. These are vital skills for any barrister or solicitor; and key competencies often sought by employers in commercial sector work. Students selected to participate in the optional Citizens Advice module in their second year of study will also practise client interviewing.
What support is offered to students?
The Student Law Society offer voluntary workshops which run alongside the Legal Skills and Procedure module. Students may progress to compete in national competitions coached by lecturers at the law school. Support is also provided by Julie O’Shea, Clinical Legal Education Manager, and the student Master and Mistress of the Moots.
Can you enter external competitions?
Students are encouraged to put themselves forward to represent the University at national and international level in competitions such as the ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition, the CEDR Student Negotiation Competition, the Client Interviewing Competition and many others. Buckingham has a proud competition history, reaching for example the national final of the 2023 CEDR Student Negotiation Competition and the semi-finals of the 2022-23 OUP & ICCA National Mooting Competition.
How can mooting, negotiation, and client interviewing help your career development?
It helps you to develop self-confidence, team-working, and communication skills as well as enhancing your skills in research and analysis. An essential part of the competition process requires you to liaise directly with competing teams and judges, lodging documentation within prescribed competition time limits; providing an excellent opportunity to network with legal professionals outside of the University.
See what our students have to say
Enquiries
For all enquiries relating to mooting, negotiation, and other legal skills, please contact our Lawyering Skills and Competitions Lead, Dr Jessica Walsh.
You can also contact the student Mistress and Master of the Moots, selected on a yearly basis based on their performance on the compulsory Legal Skills and Procedure module. The Mistress and Master of the Moots work together alongside Dr Walsh to create further opportunities for students to hone their legal skills through workshops, internal competitions, guest speakers, and other events.
The current Mistress and Master of the Moots are Megan Priestman and Oliver Hall.
Information about participation in competitions and other extracurricular activities such as Street Legal and Clinical Legal Education events are emailed to students by our Clinical Legal Education Manager, Julie O’Shea.