Law students got a taste of what it takes be a real lawyer in a court room during a mock trial competition.
UOW students in their third to fifth year of study participated in the Morrison Moot court competition on November 6 and 7.
Defence lawyer and partner Matt Ward, from Morrison Law Group which hosted the event, said the competition was designed to create a realistic environment for potential criminal advocates to practice, improve and get feedback before they went into a real courtroom as lawyers.
"The students get a feel for what it is like to deal with real problem questions that arise during court proceedings as opposed to a legal question or appeal point they learn in books," he said.
"They also get a real essence of the difference between preparing and knowing the law, and preparing to present a case to a judge.
"The students receive feedback on what they can work on throughout their degree to improve their advocacy."
Following several court proceedings throughout the two days, two teams, the prosecution and defence, prepared their cases and faced off in the grand final.
They argued what sentence a man should receive for supplying drugs in front of three judges, Matt Ward, barrister Ed Anderson and retired district court judge Richard Cogswell SC.
The prosecution team which included Annissa Jason and Ruby Evans won the final but noted it was a hard fought victory.
Ms Jason said she was challenged throughout the competition as the teams only had a short time to prepare for each moot court proceeding.
Ms Evans said she learnt how to have confidence during the court proceeding.
"When we first started doing moot court competitions, we would come in with fully prepared scripts but then Matt Ward told us to go in there and make it a conversation," she said.
"Keeping the proceedings casual comes with confidence and experience."
Zane Wilde, who was on the defence team, said he loved the opportunity to hone his advocacy skills.
"There has been emphasis on different styles of advocacy so for example how a lawyer uses different language and carries themselves in different ways," he said.
"Learning my own style while also adhering to the formalities and being conversational was a helpful tip I learnt."
Jackson Cocks said having good preparation and knowing the facts of the case was also key to being a good advocate.
Prize money was given to the grand finalists and runners up.
Ruby Evans and Jackson Cocks were jointly given the best advocate award which also came with an advocacy internship at the Morrisons Law office.
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