Legal Research & Advocacy

The Legal Research & and Advocacy course exposes students to the work of a ‘real’ lawyer, in that they will take a specified case scenario and provide written and oral advocacy on it.

Students will be given a moot problem. A moot is an assessed piece of simulated advocacy in which students present a case for whichever party they are representing before a court of appellate jurisdiction. Where possible, students will be paired, with one point of appeal being taken per student. Each moot will thus comprise four students, two for the appellant and two for the respondent.

Accompanying the oral advocacy students will submit a skeleton argument of approximately 2,500 words per party. This argument will set out their case, referring to case, statutory and other authorities as appropriate. This argument, together with copies of the authorities they will be referring to, will be assembled into a court ‘bundle’, copied to the judge(s) and the other party’s representatives.

Students will be expected not only to study the legal area which is the background to the moot problem but also study and become accomplished at court etiquette and presentation. It is required that students attend a court of appellate jurisdiction, preferably the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court, observe the procedure of the court and the conduct of the lawyers, and then write a short assessed report on it.