Dean’s Cup – UK Supreme Court visit

On the evening of 16 March, the final of the Dean’s Cup (the School of Law’s internal mooting competition) was hosted in the UK Supreme Court before its President, Lord Reed. After sitting in on a Privy Council hearing, and a tour of the building, Heather Woodcock and Gowan Mackay (both in their second year) mooted against Easham Manzar (also second year) and Osama Aslam (fourth year). Both teams were a credit to the School in preparing so fully and committing to travelling to London as exam and dissertation deadlines near. Lord Reed did not take it easy on any of them, but remarked on how impressed he was at their preparation and ability to adapt on their feet. His Lordship, as an Honorary Professor and Graduate of the University, expressed his pleasure in continuing to support the School of Law, having just hosted the European Human Rights Project a few weeks ago.  

It was closely fought, and, in the end, Lord Reed awarded the Dean’s Cup to Heather and Gowan. All mooters were presented with a letter from Lord Reed and a coffee table book on the Supreme Court building. All students were enthused about the experience of mooting in the Supreme Court before Lord Reed, and thanks are due to the School for supporting the trip, to the UK Supreme Court for organising the visit, and to James Chalmers and Stephen Bogle for helping with the moot problem. 

Heather Woodcock commented: “"We arrived in what was a very wet and windy London racked with nerves which didn't ease upon arrival at the Supreme Court. We were very lucky to get a tour of the Court and learn a lot about its history as Middlesex guild hall before being led into the main courtroom. Lord Reed then entered, introduced himself, assured us that he was very happy to see us and that while he would be tough with the questions, it was just business. There were some incredibly tough questions from both Lord Reed and his judicial assistant and following the moot, he gave us some advocacy advice that we would be able to use both in future moots and long into our legal careers. We then enjoyed a lovely dinner at a French restaurant not far from the Supreme Court. It was undoubtedly a valuable, once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget!” 

Gowan Mckay said: “We found that mooting was a very beneficial way for us to put into practice the law we had learned already in our first year, and to improve our research and argumentative skills. Mooting in front of the President of the Supreme Court was an incredible experience, and through his feedback we learnt a lot about how to present arguments, and how best to handle questions. As well as a tour of the Supreme Court, we had the chance to watch part of an actual case in one of the courtrooms. We also had the opportunity to be tourists in London the next day!” 

Congratulations to all of the participating students on an excellent performance!