Bond University has become the first international law school to enter a team in Canada’s prestigious Wilson Moot.
Juris Doctor students Matthew Rendely and Luke Godin, along with Bachelor of Laws student Ashley Rooney jetted off to Ontario late last month to compete against Canada’s top law schools in Toronto’s Federal Court Facility.
The (fictional) case in question illustrated a complex point of law concerning the adoption of aboriginal children by non-aboriginal parents and the protection of the rights of aboriginal parents and children in private adoptions.
“The problem involved a cross-over between British Columbia’s Adoption Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so our team members have been immersed in Canadian constitutional law issues for the past three months preparing their written and oral arguments,” said team coach and Bond Law Senior Teaching Fellow, Lisa Bonin.
“Thanks to technology, it’s reasonably easy to access most resources electronically these days, but there were still some documents we weren’t able to track down.”
The Wilson Moot is held annually in honour of the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, the late Justice Bertha Wilson, and focusses on constitutional issues concerning women and minorities.
“It has a reputation for being a highly competitive and challenging moot, presenting cases just as complex as you would find in an international moot,” said Ms Bonin.
“As such, we saw it as an ideal testing ground for Bond’s Canadian Law students.”
Bond University’s Faculty of Law has carved a unique niche for itself by offering specialist Canadian Law subjects taught by Canadian educated and experienced academics, such as Lisa Bonin who worked for several years as a litigator with top-tier Canadian law firm, McCarthy Tétrault.
With competition for places at Canadian law schools at a premium, the move has been extremely successful for the Gold Coast university: Canadian students now make up around one-fifth of Bond’s Law faculty, with upwards of 150 on campus at any one time.
“Our involvement in the Wilson Moot has been an invaluable opportunity for our Canadian students to test their advocacy skills and adjust to the way cases are argued in Canada,” said Ms Bonin.
“Around 100 judges, lawyers and law students are involved in managing and hosting the competition so it’s also an excellent showcase for Bond Law’s Canadian program and our Canadian students.”
During their week in Toronto, the Bond team visited several top-notch law firms to conduct practice rounds and attended social networking events with the presiding Judges, legal practitioners and other participants.
“Whilst we didn’t finish at the top of the leader board on our first Wilson Moot outing, the whole experience was a big win for the students involved in terms of making excellent contacts,” said Ms Bonin.
Participation in the Wilson Moot is just one example of the wide range of mooting opportunities available to Bond students.
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