All rise: how courtroom experiences are benefiting law students

Originally from Paris, Charles Buckman is currently studying LLB Law: Media and Digital Industries at Salford Business School. As part of his course, Charles had the opportunity to take part in a “mooting” competition against his fellow students at Salford Crown Courts. I spoke to Charles after seeing his amazing performance and passion for his studies during the mooting.

First of all congratulations! You won the mooting, how does it feel?

I was delighted to win. I hope to strive for regionals with the Law Society in the future.

For those who don’t know…what is a mooting?

Mooting is the oral presentation of a legal case against an opposing counsel (or in my case, peer student), and before a judge. It’s the closest experience that a student can have whilst at university to appearing in court.

Second year as part of the Human Rights module, there is an assessment involving mooting which is mandatory which is usually on a case by case basis held in the Salford Business School. As we managed to get to the finals, we visited a real court for the mooting which of course was a great opportunity!

How has the mooting benefited your future career?

It helps you to appreciate the seriousness of studying law, and it’s very challenging, especially in terms of preparation. The judges and practitioners at the mooting stressed how much it helps with building your professionalism and organisation for the future. Everything you say must be justified, and the mooting prepares you for that.

Tell me more about your course.

There are around 10 students in my year on the LLB Law: Media and Digital Industries course. It’s great because we link up with the bigger law groups but it also allows us to specialise in a specific type of law.

Why did you choose Salford to study Law?

The first reason I chose Salford was because of MediaCityUK. It’s the best place to be, there’s lots of industry links there, and seminars and talks. The second was because of the course specialism, with lots of relevant career opportunities in Manchester.

Does your degree provide any other career building opportunities?

Fortunately as part of my course we are able to take part in the CLOCK scheme. CLOCK gives you both legal experience and training, with the goal of helping local people with their benefits and appeals. We argue and provide support for individuals who cannot always get the representation that they need. I joined this year and I have already completed a case, it’s a great way of putting yourself out into the real world. You may only see your client for a short amount of time, but the whole duration of that time they’re depending on you. It’s slightly different to the mooting as that is a fictional case, with the CLOCK scheme it is all real world problems that you are dealing with.

Did you work with any industry professionals in the mooting?

The judges that were present at our mooting gave us lots of feedback on how we argued our case. Speaking to industry professionals was interesting, very helpful and has also helped me to build my network.

With having absolutely no knowledge within this sector to start with, I found it really interesting to find out more about what studying Law here at Salford provides, and I learnt quite a lot! It was thrilling to see a student with such passion and drive for his study, and I wish Charles the best of luck with his third and final year!

Photography: India Booth