Hi!

We’re Bianca and Emily, the competition coordinators for 2010. Competitions are a great way to build and develop your legal advocacy skills and be involved in an extra-cirriculuar activity.

The competitions are:

Client interviewing: Interact with clients and cover the formalities of a simulated interview.

Negotiation: Test your skills of mediation and diplomacy.

Witness Examination: Puts you in a court room scenario and tests your advocacy skills.

Mooting: Take part in a mock legal trial that puts you in front of a judge to test your legal reasoningt skills.

Whether you only compete in the preliminary round or make it to the grand final, comps has a lot to offer and will make your law degree more exciting! Having competed in comps for the past few years, we both can tell you first hand that getting involved is really beneficial for your degree. You'll improve your skills and confidence while helping you to decide exactly what career path in law you enjoy most. The expereince you gain in invaluable, you’ll make new friends and best of all firms love to see involvement in competitions on your resume.

This year we really want to encourage all law students to take part in one or more of the competitions on offer and after a record-breaking year of comps in 2009, we want to make this year bigger and better. So here’s what's new in 2010.

1. First semester will now hold OPEN competitions instead of being limited to seniors. First and second year students are more than welcome to compete but don’t worry there will still be a junior competition held in semester two for first and second year students only.

2. In addition to the four main comps, this year we will be introducing an International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot for the open competition in semester one. International humanitarian law is a crucial part of international law and as such this moot seeks to raise awareness of the issues in this area of law.We’re really excited about this so any expressions of interest, questions or feedback is greatly appreciated. Let us know what you think.

3. This year we’re very pleased to announce that Griffith will have its own competition rules. They will be based on the ALSA rules but will be tailored to fit our competition structure.

Don’t worry if you’ve never competed or you’re just a little scared to take the big leap, we’re running two seminars in Week 3 of semester one and another two in semester two. These will be run by Corrs Chambers Westgarth so they’re guaranteed to be jam packed with great hints and tips.

Remember you do need to have an L card to be eligible to compete but otherwise there’s no excuse not to enter comps!! If you are still unsure we’re only a click or call away so get in touch with us if you have any questions or feedback.

Best of luck for 2010
Bianca and Emily