Hardly a moot point

One of the aims of higher legal education is to produce independent, autonomous learners who solve problems and communicate the solution clearly and fluently. Mooting is a single assessment which enables students to achieve that aim. A moot is a mock appeal on a point of law where students are given a factual scenario and the history to the court decisions in the case, plus a ground of appeal on which they have to make written submissions and give oral presentations, as if they were counsel in the appellate court.

Mooting is commonly misunderstood; many observers think it is only the oral presentation that is the “moot” and fail to consider the work required to produce the presentation. In that way, mooting is an iceberg; it has hidden depths. The research, thinking, selection and de-selection of material that underlies the moot are not obvious to the casual observer, but are vital to the assessment. Future employers may benefit from an understanding of the criteria used