Summary
The 2024 PG Competitions team is proud to be offering a number of fantastic opportunities for PG students which aim at expanding their legal knowledge and skills beyond the classroom. This year we are proud to introduce a new Competitions in addition to the Negotiations, PG Moot and Client Interview Competitions, the Legal Hackathon and the Women’s Moot (in collaboration with the LLB), the Witness Examination (in collaboration with the LLB) which is an initiative to allow students to put on display their advocacy and examination skills.
All of our Competitions, with the exception of the Legal Hackathon, consist of 2 preliminary rounds, a Semi-Final and a Grand Final. The PG Competitions Portfolio additionally offers a Workshop for all competitors prior to the commencement of every Competition. The Workshops feature guest speakers who offer advice and provide support to students. Attending the Workshops gives competitors the opportunity to ask questions to legal professionals and past winners on how to succeed in Competitions. To view the winners of our competitions in previous years please visit here.
Further, to recognise the achievements of those individuals that have won our competitions please view a full list here.
For more information or support, please contact Jonas on pg.competitions@monashlss.com or Sheena and Rhiannon on pg.compsofficers@monashlss.com.
Negotiations
Dispute resolution and negotiation sit at the core of all lawyers and this Competition provides a unique opportunity for students to expand their advocacy, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. The Competition is designed to imitate a real-life negotiation with two teams of solicitors representing hypothetical clients requiring them to strike a deal by negotiating an outcome which is in the best interests of all parties.
Both teams are given the same set of general facts with a few tweaks unique to their own client. The competitors are not required to have any prior legal knowledge or negotiation experience. Students are encouraged to think of alternative solutions and quickly adapt to evolving discussions while keeping their clients’ interests at the forefront of the negotiation. Collaboration and effective communication amongst the team of solicitors is the key to success in this Competition.
Dates:
Workshop – 22 February 2023
Round 1 (All Teams) – 27 February 2023
Round 2 (All Teams) – 1 March 2023
Semi-Final – 6 March 2023
Grand-Final – 15 March 2023
Winner of 2022 PG Negotiations – Kim Fernandes-Kemp and Alexandra Pantelis
Moot
The PG Mooting Competition replicates the court experience by providing an invaluable opportunity to practice legal research and advocacy skills. This Competition promises to be one of the most formative experiences in Law School and is not to be missed. Teams are comprised of both Senior and Junior Counsel and an optional assisting solicitor.
The Competition requires participants to invest a substantial amount of time in both planning and execution, however, the additional time and effort is an investment in invaluable feedback from an experienced bench of judges and professional litigators. Competitors who reach the Grand Final round will also have the unique and exhilarating opportunity to present their arguments in the Federal Court.
Dates
Workshop – 1 May 2023
Round 1 (All Teams) – 8 May 2023
Round 2 (All Teams) – 10 May 2023
Semi-Final – 17 May 2023
Grand Final – 24May 2023
Winner of 2022 PG Moot – Filip Markoski, Dennis Berner and Lucy Glover
Legal Hackathon
The Legal Hackathon entails bridging the gap between legal services and technology. Working with emerging technologies and software is now more important than ever in the legal field as it improves the accessibility and effectiveness of legal services.
Open to both LLB and PG students, this Competition features a theme requiring competitors to design an innovative solution to improve issues experienced by the legal sector. Students will work together in small teams to find a common solution for a problem that the legal sector is facing. This Competition encourages students to cultivate their innovative spirit, practice their advocacy and research skills as well as use their creativity to resolve an important issue. The Legal Hackathon will also be a stepping stone for students who are interested in the intersection between the law and technology and those who wish to work in the Technology Media & Telecommunications sector.
Competitors will pitch their ideas to a panel of experts in the sphere of technology, innovation and law. Each team will have approximately 15 minutes to present their innovative solution to a panel of presiding judges.
Dates
Workshop – 22 May 2023
Preliminary Round – 17 July 2023
Presentation Day – 20 September 2023
Winner of 2022 PG Legal Hackathon (Last year disaster – This year all competitors must present in person at GF) Kylie Tan, Matthew Hicks, Merryn Cagney and Shmuel Neumann
Client Interview
Replicating a real-life client interview setting, this Competition provides the perfect opportunity for students to practice interviewing clients which is an essential skill in the legal sector. Through interviewing their client, a team of solicitors has to quickly identify the relevant issues and extract the necessary facts that will aid them in giving appropriate legal advice to their client.
The competitors are not required to have any previous legal knowledge or experience in interviewing clients. This Competition enhances students’ advocacy, organisation and communication skills as well as requires competitors to understand the client’s situation. Attention to detail and collaboration are a necessity for excelling in this Competition.
Dates
Workshop – 5 June 2023
Round 1 (All Teams) – 12 June 2023
Round 2 (All Teams) – 14 June 2023
Semi-Final – 21 June 2023
Grand Final – 28 June 2023
Winner of 2022 PG Client interview – Emma Kong and William Ho
Women’s Moot
The Inaugural Women’s Moot Competition is a joint initiative between the Competitions and Social Justice & Equity Portfolios. The Competition aims to provide female-identifying and non-binary students with the opportunity to develop their advocacy skills and network with female legal professionals. The Women’s Moot aims to increase students’ perception of the accessibility of pursuing a career at the Bar, which remains heavily male-dominated. Requiring both written and oral submissions, this Competition will provide a platform for aspiring female barristers to practice their legal research and advocacy skills.
Competitors are paired into teams of two or three that are comprised of two barristers and an optional instructing solicitor. The barristers (Senior and Junior Counsel) are given 40 minutes to make oral submissions on a controversial legal scenario to the Judges. The Women’s Moot will use one problem throughout the whole Competition, encouraging students to focus on advancing their advocacy skills.
Dates
Workshop – 13 September 2023
Round 1 (All Teams) – 18 September 2023
Round 2 (All Teams) – 20 September 2023
Semi-Final – 2 October 2023
Grand Final – 4 October 2023
PG v LLB Day
Each year, finalists from the previous year’s competitions come together to compete in a friendly PG vs LLB showcase. The day provides an excellent opportunity for students from both courses to display the skills they have developed. The showcase is open to spectators from both courses to observe and gain insight prior to the remaining competitions for the year. In 2023, this competition will be running on 22 February 2023 as a showcase programme running in the LLB orientation week. Please email pg.competitions@monashlss.com for more information.
Witness Examination
The Witness Examination offers an exciting experience to students looking to enhance their advocacy skills. Competitors act as either counsel for the defence or prosecution, and are given the statement of facts of both their own witness as well as the opposing side’s witness. You must work out how you want to present your case, and write questions that best allow you to do so. Are there inconsistencies in what the opposing witness has said? Anything that doesn’t make sense? As both sides have access to the same facts, this competition is all about spinning the narrative in a way that is best for your side.
This competition is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students of all year levels. The competition involves individual competitors to examine witnesses in a simulated trial. Competitors must develop their own case theory and present this to the judge in opening and closing remarks. Competitors are encouraged to raise objections on grounds such as relevance, hearsay, opinion, prejudice, or use of leading questions.
Dates
Workshop – 30 August 2023
Round 1 (All Teams) – 4 September 2023
Round 2 (All Teams) – 6 September 2023
Semi-Final – 11 September 2023
Grand Final – 13 September 2023