Local law student excels in moot trial competition

A law student from Mullahoran has given her CV an impressive boost by claiming second place in a prestigious competition.

Erica O’Reilly, who studies law at DCU, competed in the National Moot Court Competition held in the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin recently. She competed against 14 colleges across Ireland and the UK, including both Oxford and Cambridge.

The competition saw competitors face off in a mock trial in front of Supreme Court and High Court judges. Erica faced stiff competition to even qualify for this phase of it.

“Only five teams are allowed from each college, but nine wanted to represent DCU. I had ranked second in DCU Moot Court modules which prepared me for these kinds of moot competitions.

“I had also won another moot competition called the Aoife King Memorial, so my lecturer said I should go for the competition. I was initially unsure because there’s a high quality of opposition. But all nine teams did a presentation and I was selected to go for it.”

Erica’s team consisted of Imogen Raleigh from Dublin as her co-counsel, and Katie Marlon from Louth as their instructing solicitor.

For the competition itself, Erica and her team had to argue a civil case.

“It was centered around a person who claimed they were suffering nervous shock. They went to court and the judge said they didn’t meet the requirements and don’t have nervous shock. However, the person who brought the case and their solicitor disagreed and appealed the judge’s decision. Then it goes to the Court of Appeal where arguments were made for and against the previous judge’s reasoning for making that decision.”

The competition was demanding as Erica had to prepare arguments for both sides of the case, and was given minimal notice for which side she was on.

“For the moot court trial, you always have to prepare both the plaintiff and the defendant side and then when you enter the competition, you have to have 2,000 word written memorials for each side. For one round, you could be defending the person and for the next, you could be against the person - you’re changing your arguments constantly. It’s like a real life court situation for legal students. The judges and barristers were always questioning and criticising everything that was said so you just have to think on your feet.”

Erica, who is currently on work placement at the Department of Justice, said the experience was fantastic but very challenging.

“It turns out we came up against Oxford and Cambridge first, then a team from Belfast, UCC, and we were against UCD in the finals.”

Despite finishing second Erica had mixed feelings about the result. At the conclusion of the moot, one of the Supreme Court judges said there was only a hair's breadth between the two sides.

“It was good to do so well, but I was disappointed not to have won having come so close,” said Erica.