Kirtan Swamy, Law Mooting Coordinator and Coach, said it had been a strong month of mooting for La Trobe, with all students demonstrating exceptional commitment to refining their advocacy skills.
“We’ve also been fortunate to have experienced mooters return to support the program, and their contributions have played a valuable role in the teams’ recent successes,” he said.
At the RMIT Junior Criminal Law Moot, La Trobe entered two teams.
Atena Mazaravi, Gianluca Righele, Aaradhana Kollakkal and Flanna Maju, coached by Alex Vander, progressed to the quarter-finals. Joan Namayanja, Mark Tanevski, Robyn Haddad and Hannah Smith, coached by Hassan Asad, reached the semi-finals and received the Spirit of the Moot award.
Reflecting on the experience, Mark Tanevski said the moot helped him develop confidence.
“Mooting helps you to become a polished, fluent, and fast-thinking speaker. I never thought I could stand up in front of such accomplished and intelligent legal experts and still feel confident in my arguments.”
Hannah Smith said the moot reshaped her view of legal practice.
“Mooting demands advocacy. As a future criminal defence lawyer, I see most of my work in courtrooms, and I can now better understand how the law is applied both in writing and orally.”
At the ALSA Championship Moot, Stella Drummond, Elise Mitchell and Timothy Sonneman, coached by Paul Romas, reached the quarter-finals and received Best Memorandum for Respondent as well as the Spirit of the Moot award.
Meanwhile, the ALSA IHL Moot team of Jade Sheppard, Isabella Varallo and Gihansa Samarawickrema, coached by Mohamad Dannaoui, placed in the top eight nationally after the general rounds.
