Clubs & Competitions
Student members have the opportunity to participate in our Mooting and Debating Workshops, along with various student competitions.
Mooting & Debating Clubs
All student members of the Inn are encouraged to get involved in our Mooting and Debating Clubs. They provide excellent experience for pupillage interviews and future appearances in court, as well as networking opportunities with members of Hall. Both clubs also take part in various internal and external competitions. Competition selections are usually held during club meetings unless otherwise advertised. Most competitions are limited to those currently studying for the GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law) or Bar Practice Course but members who are pre/post-bar course are still very welcome to attend the club meetings. If you are a Lincoln’s Inn student member and would like to join either mailing list for the 2024/25 academic year, please email the Debating Secretaries ([email protected]) or the Mooting Secretaries ([email protected]).
|
Debating Club |
Mooting Club |
|---|---|
|
Thursday 16 January 2025 |
Monday 20 January 2025 |
|
Wednesday 05 February 2025 |
Monday 03 March 2025 |
|
Thursday 06 March 2025 |
Tuesday 11 March 2025 |
|
Wednesday 26 March 2025 |
Wednesday 02 April 2025 (IPMC London Selection) |
Student Competitions
The Inn runs five annual competitions for Lincoln’s Inn student members. Participation in these competitions has proven fantastic experience for future barristers and excellent CV material. Please note, participation at Inn competitions, will not count towards any qualifying sessions.
Crowther Shield Public Speaking Competition
This competition gives students the opportunity to present a plea in mitigation on behalf of an historical or fictional character under timed conditions. Previous cases used include Guy Fawkes (conspiracy to cause an explosion), Lady Macbeth (soliciting a murder) and Goldilocks (burglary and criminal damage).
The competition was held on Wednesday 11 December 2024, with 11 students taking part. Congratulations to the winner of this year’s competition Giorgio Rand, who won with his defence of Pontius Pilate (Perverting the course of justice by handing Jesus over to the mob. John 18:28).
Inter-Provider Mooting Competition
This competition is to find the best mooting team from each of the Bar Course providers. Preliminary selection rounds will be held for Lincoln’s Inn students at the BPTC Providers, using a speed-mooting system. The two highest scoring students will go through to represent their Provider in the final rounds, when the teams compete against each other to decide the winning team.
The IPMC Final was held on Saturday 08 June 2024. Congratulations to the winners Gwen Edmunds and William Moppett who were representing The Inns of Court College of Advocacy! Well done to all who took part and a special recognition to our runners up Samuel Lane and Joshua Turner who were representing City, University of London.
The 2025 competition will be held on Saturday 07 June.
Selection for students at London Providers will take place at the last Mooting Club of the term on Wednesday 02 April. The secretaries will email out the link to join this session to the mailing list in the coming weeks.
Selection for those at Providers outside of London will be organised at your provider by your student representative. If you would like to be put forward for selection at your provider, click here to register your interest.
Debating Shield
This is an internal debating competition to find the best debating team in the Inn. Team selection will be held at the final Debating Club meeting of the year. Participants must have been selected at this Debating Club Workshop in order to progress to the final. The motion will be announced on the day and the final follow the format of a “British Parliamentary Debate”.
The 2023/24 Debate Shield Final Competition was held on Tuesday 30 April 2024. Congratulations to the winners Niamh Kenny and Katie Stephens!
The 2025 Debate Shield Final will be held on Wednesday 21 May 2025. Selection for the final will be held on Tuesday 08 April 2025. The secretaries will email out the link to join this session to the mailing list in the coming weeks.
Gluckstein Advocacy Prize
This is a competition to award the Sir Louis Gluckstein Prize for the best junior advocate at the Inn. It is open to current Bar Course students and those up to one year Call. Competitors are asked to prepare two exercises, a mixture of criminal, civil and family, and will be allocated randomly. The competition will consist of an initial round from which the judges will select up to eight participants to compete in the final.
The competition was held on Saturday 20 April 2024. Congratulations to the winner of this year’s competition Matthew Jahanfar! Well done to all who took part and a special recognition to our runner up and 3rd place competitors, Adnan Khaliq and Victoria Bradshaw.
The 2025 Competition will be held on Saturday 10 May 2025. The ballot for the 2025 competition is now open. To enter, please click here.
Student Legal Essay Competitions
The Inn’s annual Student Law Journal invites students to submit essays for any legal area of interest.
All entries will be reviewed by a panel of Benchers and Barristers who will select the top 10 entries to be included in the journal. After selection, the journal will be published online with hard copies being stored in the Inn’s library.
In addition to inclusion within the law journal, there are two named essay prizes available:
Lord Millett Equity Essay Prize
The Lord Millett Equity Essay Prize is awarded to the student with the best essay on the subject of equity in the law.
The Lord Millett Equity Essay Prize is made possible by a generous legacy left to the Inn by The Rt Hon Lord Millett, who was Treasurer of the Inn in 2004. In agreement with his family, we have established the essay prize in the field of equity, of which Lord Millett was the outstanding exponent of his time.
Lincoln’s Inn Essay Prize
The Lincoln’s Inn Essay Prize is awarded to the student with the best overall essay on any other legal subject.
Students are permitted to enter essays for both prizes should they wish to. Please note that students cannot submit the same essay for both prizes.
In addition to these prizes, there will also be a prize for overall 2nd and 3rd place.
Prizes
Prizes are available in the following categories:
1. Lincoln’s Inn Essay Prize: £500 & Lincoln’s Inn Pen
2. Lord Millett Equity Essay Prize: £500 & Lincoln’s Inn Pen
3. Overall 2nd place: £50 & Lincoln’s Inn Pen
4. Overall 3rd place: Lincoln’s Inn Pen
The deadline for submissions for the 2024/25 Student Law Journal is 09:00 on Monday 25th November 2024.
To read the full competition rules, click here.
Essays must be submitted with a completed Submission & Plagiarism Declaration. Click here to download the form.
You can read the 2024 Student Law Journal here.
Competition Dates & Entry
|
Eligibility |
Ballot Entry or Selection Night |
Date of Final |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Crowther Shield Public Speaking Competition |
Student members of the Inn. |
Ballot closed. |
Wednesday 11 December 2024. |
|
Inter-Provider Mooting Competition |
Current Bar student members. |
|
Saturday 07 June 2025. |
|
Debating Shield Competition |
Student members of the Inn. |
Selection night will be held on Tuesday 08 April. |
Wednesday 21 May 2025. |
|
Sir Louis Gluckstein Advocacy Prize |
Members of the Inn who are up to one year post-Call. |
Ballot open. To enter, click here. |
Saturday 10 May 2025. |
|
Student Legal Essay Competitions |
Student members of the Inn. |
|
The Student Law Journal will be published April 2025. |