For National Law Week, the Mackay District Law Association (MDLA) held its annual moot competition. This year Macrossan & Amiet Solicitors were represented by two participants, Shannyn Flynn and Sophie Ford.
A moot is a mock court trial where trainee and graduate solicitors are teamed up to compete against each other in the presence of a judge. Preliminary moots were held on Monday, 8 May and Tuesday, 9 May. The winners from the preliminary moots then went on to compete in a final moot on Friday 12 May.
The preliminary moot was a criminal matter using the facts from the fable Jack and the Beanstalk. On Monday, Sophie Ford and her partner Daniel Lane, from Wallace and Wallace were successful in defending from a conviction of unlawful homicide and on Tuesday Shannyn Flynn and her partner Nick Coughlan, from Fisher Dore Lawyers were successful in convicting Jack of unlawful homicide.
Sophie and Shannyn went head-to-head in the final moot, in a civil matter, using facts from the Rapunzel fable. Sophie and Daniel acted for the Plaintiff, Rapunzel and Shannyn and Nick acted for the Defendant, Dame Gothel in a claim against Dame Gothel for false imprisonment. Members of the legal profession attended the final moot to support their peers and provided constructive feedback.
Both teams had a great performance and received valuable feedback to assist in developing their skills for their future court appearances and legal careers. Macrossan & Amiet came away with two wins from the competition with the Judge ruling in the Defendants favour, with Shannyn and Nick taking out the win and Sophie being awarded with the “Best Advocate Award”.
Participating in the moots was a rewarding experience for the trainee and graduate solicitors. The moot presented an opportunity for new members of the legal profession to develop skills, network and learn from experienced judges and barristers.
Macrossan & Amiet would like to congratulate and thank all the participants, volunteers and coordinators involved with the moot.
