Christ Church Law Students triumph in Oxford mooting competition
Two Christ Church Law students have won the University of Oxford’s Maitland Chambers Mooting Cuppers, defeating teams from across the collegiate University in a series of simulated court hearings known as ‘moots’.
Second-year Law students Louise Guy and Rose Agnew represented Christ Church throughout the competition, which began in Hilary Term and featured multiple rounds covering a range of legal topics. Their victory culminated in a final held at Magdalen College before a distinguished panel of three King’s Counsel from Maitland Chambers.
The team’s campaign began with a preliminary round against New College concerning a contract law dispute and the question of whether a practical benefit can amount to consideration in the context of a building contract. In the quarter-final against University College, they argued an administrative law problem involving allegations of judicial bias and inadequate reasoning in a judgment.
The final concerned a medical negligence appeal before the Supreme Court. Representing the appellant patient, Louise and Rose argued that a doctor had negligently failed to advise a patient of an infertility treatment option. By the time the patient learned of the treatment from another doctor, its chance of success had fallen to 10 per cent.
Their submissions addressed two challenging legal questions: whether the Supreme Court should overturn the decision in Gregg v Scott on loss of a chance in medical negligence claims, and whether a doctor determining reasonable alternative treatments must take into account a patient’s own views when deciding what information should be provided.
Despite arguing against the direction of recent Supreme Court authority, the Christ Church team impressed the judges with their advocacy and legal analysis. The judging panel particularly commended their responses to questions from the bench and their sophisticated treatment of the legal issues.
It was a privilege to argue in front of such a distinguished panel.
It was a privilege to argue in front of such a distinguished panel.
Reflecting on the experience, Louise said: ‘It was a privilege to argue in front of such a distinguished panel (comprising three KCs). The experience and the judges’ advice afterwards have really improved my advocacy.’
Rose, who as Christ Church’s “Mistress of Moots” during the academic year has been responsible for organising mooting events for undergraduate and postgraduate students, said: ‘It has been wonderful to oversee students’ involvement in mooting this year at Christ Church, and I am delighted to conclude my tenure with this win!’
Professor Ciara Kennefick, Christ Church Tutorial Fellow in Law, praised her tutees: ‘We are very proud of Rose and Louise for winning this prestigious competition for Christ Church. There is a strong tradition of mooting here. We believe that it adds great value to a legal education.’
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