Herbert Smith Freehills First Year Mooting

For the tenth consecutive year, the LSS brings you the First-Year Mooting Competition exclusively for first-years. This competition was introduced specifically for first-year JD students, with problems focusing on areas of law such as torts and contracts.

Teams are sorted into pools in a World Cup-style fixture including group stage and knockout rounds. Each team is guaranteed to compete in at least three fixtures, with the Grand Finalists competing in a total of six moots across the year. There is no better way to get mooting experience as a first-year than through the 2024 First-Year Mooting Competition.

The Competition has three preliminary rounds which are followed by the Quarter, Semi and Grand Final.

Competition Details

Teams must consist of a Senior and Junior Counsel. This year we will be including 1-2 Instructing Solicitors who assist in legal research and preparation of the written submissions (does not speak during the oral submissions). Team members may rotate positions during the course of the competition so that everyone gets a chance to make oral submissions.

Time commitment: For ALL competitors, the moot problem will be released at varying times prior to your moot. As mooting is research based, expect to spend some time reading the problem, undertaking some research and preparing for the moot.

Team size: 4 members

Number of rounds: 6

Semester 1 Schedule: Wednesdays and Thursdays, with the exception of Tuesday 23/04

  • Week 4: 20/03 and 21/03

  • Week 6: 10/04 and 11/04

  • Week 8: 23/04 and 24/04

Semester 2 Schedule:

  • Week 1: 24/07 | Quarter-Final

  • Week 3: 06/08 | Semi-Final

  • Week 5: 22/08 | Grand-Final

Attire: Business

Delivery: All internal competitions in 2024 will follow an in-person format.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Grace Staton and Bridget Connelly at firstyearmoot@mulss.com

Documents & Recordings

2024 Competitor Guidebook — Click here to download

2024 Judge Guidebook — Click here to download

2024 Scoresheet — Click here to download

2024 Competitor Training Workshop Slides — Click here to download

2024 Competitor Training Workshop Recording — Click here to download

2023 Results

Winners – Sam Warner, Jordan Bassilious, Amy Atkinson and Patrick Sexton
Runners Up – Keona Ng, Stanley Liau, Sonia Li and De Kai Chue
Best Speaker – Sam Warner
Judges – Brendan Donohue (HSF), Dr Brad Jessup, and Justice Maree Kennedy

Congratulations to Sam Warner, Jordan Bassilious, Amy Atkinson and Patrick Sexton for winning the 2023 Herbert Smith Freehills First-Year Moot! Congratulations to Sam Warner for winning the ‘Best Speaker’ award.

Congratulations to Keona Ng, Stanley Liau, Sonia Li and De Kai Chue who were the runners-up of the competition.

Thank you to our co-opts Fiona Xia and Olivia Kowalishin and to all those who participated this year!

Past winners

2023 - Sam Warner, Jordan Bassilious, Amy Atkinson and Patrick Sexton

2022 - Shreya Srivastava, Najwa Rachmani, Isaac Hockey, and Sam Triantafillopoulos

2021 - Tim Bamford, Rohan Kannan and Mandy Miller

2020 - Galen Maxwell, Samuel Hannah and Mark Salamy

2019 - Haydn Berry, Hugo Rogers and Kevin Sebastian

2018 - Celina Christoffelsz, Sarah Watling and Amber Withers

2017 - Zoe Brown, Tyrone Connell and Andrew Tolé

2016 - Jess Koops, Anna Liu and Camille Bentley-McGoldrick

2015 - Jennifer Keene, Harry Hill-Smith and Tim Higgins

2014 - Luke Chircop, Morgan Koegel and Blake Connell