Learning the Law at St Andrews - Mooting

St Salvator's College

Author Andy Hawkins Licence CC BY-SA 2.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

Although St Andrews lost its law school in 1967 when Queen's College became the University of Dundee, St Andrews graduates continued to enter the legal professions of all parts of the United Kingdom and many other countries.  Their entry into the law is eased by the University of St Andrews Law Society a student organization supported by Herbert Smith Freehills and other leading law firms.  The Society holds activities that prepare students for law school and a career in the law including moots, talks and workshops.  

I was invited to return to St Andrews on Monday 4 Nov 2024, to judge a mooting competition.  I sat with Mike Gettinby Chief Legal Officer at the University of St Andrews and Paulina Kachalova, Mistress of the Moots, to judge one contest and with Callum Friel, Master of the Moots, to judge the other.  The issue was whether a creditor in financial difficulties which had agreed to accept repayment of 50% of an outstanding loan to continue trading and on the understanding that that was all that the debtor could afford was entitled to sue for the balance of the loan after learning that the debtor's fortunes had improved.  We were instructed that the trial judge had found for the creditor on the ground that he was bound by Foakes v Beer (1884) 9 App. Cas. 60 or, alternatively that the debtor owed the creditor an implied duty to act in good faith and that the Court of Appeal had upheld his decision.  We were asked to imagine ourselves as Justices of the Supreme Court. 

The competition rules required the students to submit short skeleton arguments and bundles of authorities in advance which unfortunately did not reach me until immediately before the hearing in the case of one contest and late on Sunday in the case of one of the parties in the other.  Each side was represented by two students acting as leading and junior counsel.   Both sides were allocated a limited time to make their submissions not counting questions from the judges.

I have to say that I was impressed by everything that I read and heard.  Bearing in mind that none of the students had any formal training in the law and that they came from several different countries they did very well.  Their arguments were coherent, in one case quite ingenious even though I was not entirely convinced and supported by authority.  My only criticism is that they tried to do too much in too little time.   Mr Gettinby made the excellent point that the students were storytellers.  They should land each point before proceeding to the next,   As for the skeletons, I have seen worse from experienced counsel and the bundles would have passed even Sir Robin Jacob's muster.

After the contest, Mr Friel and Ms Kachalova treated me to dinner.   Over the meal, they told me that they had held workshops on drafting skeletons and preparing bundles and that they intended to hold a future workshop on cross-examination,   I am not sure when LLB students would learn those skills or whether they would learn them at all before their pupillages or training contracts.   They asked me to think of an IP issue for a future moot and I already have a few ideas.   I have already given a talk to the Law Society on practice at the English Bar and I attended a talk by David Flint of Inksters on practising as a Scottish solicitor.  

The University has established an Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research within the School of History,  Its directors are Professor Humfress and Professor Hudson of the School of History and Professor Laing of the School of International Relations and it has a distinguished Advisory Board.  There is also a wider membership of which I am one.  It holds a series of events throughout the year, offers a master's course and doctoral supervision and collaborates with the Law Society in publishing the St Andrews Law Journal,   The University Careers Service provides very useful advice to those planning a career in the law.

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