Moot season kicks off
The next two months will see University of Saskatchewan (U of S) College of Law teams participate in 11 different mooting competitions.
U of S teams have a long and proud history of mooting across Canada, and bringing home titles.
Last year, the college’s Western Canada Moot Team claimed the national Sopinka Cup for the third time, tying the U of S for the most wins by any school in the history of the competition. In 2015 and 2016, the Mediation Advocacy Moot Team brought home international accolades, ranking among the most notable teams in the International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition in Paris, France.
Mooting allows law students to practice advocacy skills in diverse simulated legal scenarios. From trial settings to courts of appeal, mediation, client counseling and various negotiation processes, mooting is a great opportunity to explore the skills and roles that advance lawyers’ work.
The College of Law mooting program draws on valuable support from beyond the college to help send teams to competitions.
Many of the program's coaches are practicing legal professionals, and teams also train with a number of volunteer lawyers, judges, and mediators, to ensure they are competition-ready.
Sponsorship also plays a huge role, with funding from partners creating a number of opportunities this season.
A U of S team will travel to Toronto in March to compete in the Walsh Family Law Moot and Negotiation Competition, thanks to sponsorship by the Collaborative Professionals of Saskatchewan, and their coach with the support of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Institute of Canada.
Also next month, the U of S will host the second annual Canadian National Negotiation Competition, sponsored by Dentons Canada and Cameco.
The Law Foundation of Saskatchewan has been a major supporter, contributing around $50,000 to the mooting program, and energy company Repsol has sponsored teams to compete in the Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot.
The success of the mooting program depends on the continued support of donors.
“The breadth and range of these opportunities for our student moot teams is something we as a college are very proud of,” said College of Law Professor and moot team coach Michaela Keet. “We are so grateful to our sponsors, coaches, and the legal professionals who help us with training – it is down to them that we are able to field teams to represent the U of S in such a wide range of competitions.”
If you’re interested in supporting the College of Law mooting program, please contact our Major Gifts Officer, Megan Cantwell, at megan.cantwell@usask.ca.
College of Law teams are participating in the following moot competitions this season:
MacIntyre Western Canada Trial Cup Moot – Feb. 16-18, Winnipeg
Gale Cup Moot – Feb. 16-17, Toronto
Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot – Feb. 22-24, Fredericton
American Bar Association Representation in Mediation – Feb. 24-25, New York City
Canadian Client Consultation Moot – Feb. 24-25, Edmonton
Canadian National Negotiation Competition (hosted by the College of Law) – March 2-3, Saskatoon
Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot – March 2-3, Toronto
Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot, March 2-4, Montreal.
Corporate/ Securities Law Moot, March 9-10, Toronto
Walsh Family Law Moot and Negotiation Competition – March 10, Toronto
Laskin Memorial Moot – March 15-17, Toronto
For more information on each competition, visit http://law.usask.ca/students/jd-students/mooting.php