Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition

Join the prestigious Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition, hosted by the Te Piringa Faculty of Law since 2001.

School of Law, Politics, and Philosophy

The Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition is an event for Year 11, 12 and 13 students to develop their advocacy skills in a competitive environment. Approximately 40 New Zealand schools participate in an intense competition held over May - July each year.

The Waikato Faculty of Law is the only New Zealand law school that hosts this competition. It has done so since 2001.

Future lawyers get to practice many practical legal skills during their study - client interviewing, witness examination, negotiations - but mooting is considered to be the most prestigious as it poses a number of professional and personal challenges.

Through the competition you will learn and apply vital legal skills.

You will:

  • Develop and present a legal argument and opinion
  • Learn the process of legal reasoning
  • Learn the principles of legal research
  • Enhance your public speaking and presentation skills
  • Learn the process of litigation (taking a case to court)
  • Learn about courtroom etiquette and procedures
  • Discover sources of law in New Zealand.

Read more about mooting competition further on this page.

Important dates for 2024

The schedule is a basic outline of the relevant steps to be followed in this competition:

Expressions of interest 12 March 2024
Mooting problem is sent out 20 March 2024
Submissions deadline 1 May 2024
Preliminary rounds Mid-May 2024*
Semi-finals 27 June 2024
Final 4 July 2024

(*currently for information purposes only and may be subject to change)

2024 Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition

I am interested - what shall I do?

First, to participate in the 2024 Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition, you need to register your interest. You can do so by:

Please download our Mooting Handbook for more information.

After registering your interest, the procedure is normally as follows:

Te Piringa will send you the mooting fact scenario and a set of materials that you will use for your legal research. All schools will be sent the same set of materials. During the first round of the competition, each school moots against one other school.

Because there are two sides to a moot, your school will be given a side of the moot to take from the outset. It is up to your school to decide how a team will be selected. Each team should have 2-3 competitors. We allow no more than 3 teams from each school to enter the competition.

If you want your team to benefit from the coaching of an experienced legal practitioner, but you are not sure how to find one, get in touch with Te Piringa. The Faculty of Law of the University of Waikato has established great working relationships with many law firms, judges and legal practitioners across New Zealand.

Te Piringa alumni work in Auckland, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Wellington, and many other parts of the country. Many of these experienced lawyers are happy to get involved. We will do our best to find an experienced coach to work with your team.

Previous Competition Results

In 2024, we continued our collaboration with the Hamilton-based law firm McCaw Lewis Lawyers, who provided sponsorship and support to Te Piringa – Faculty of Law, as well as Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, for the mooting competition.

2024 Competition Winners - Rototuna Senior High School, Team 2 (Rototuna Lion)

Represented by Lucia Sasso, Maryam Falak Falaah, and Ellen Li.

Runners-up Hamilton Boys' High School represented by Tanyon Osborne, Terrence Fu, and Connor Downey-Parish.
Best Mooter of the Competition Lucia Sasso
Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa Best Māori Mooter  Monica Ataahua Ngaire Young

 

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