For the first time, the finals of the ECC-SAL International Mooting Competition, held in Singapore from 7 to 11 January 2017, featured two teams comprising entirely of Singapore Management University (SMU) law alumni.  The moot competition, open to teams from Australia, Brunei, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea, attracted 28 teams this year.

SMU alumni had featured in three of the previous five finals, however, this is the first final with an all-SMU alumni line-up.  The final round saw Eden Li (SMU LLB and BBM, graduated in 2016) and Tan Jun Hong (SMU LLB, graduated in 2016) pitted against the opposing team comprising Bethel Chan (SMU Juris Doctor, graduated in 2016) and Nicholas Liu (SMU Juris Doctor, graduated in 2015).  The championship was eventually won by Bethel and Nicholas (featured in main photo above).

Both teams were representing the Supreme Court of Singapore where all four of them serve as Justices’ Law Clerks.  All four are also prominent moot alumni of SMU, having been part of teams that reached the championship finals of Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and the Williem C. Vis and Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competitions.

[Photo: Eden Li (centre) and Tan Jun Hong (right) with Justice Quentin Loh (left). Photo credit: Chen Siyuan]

Now in its sixth year, the ECC-SAL International Mooting Competition is one of the rare moot competitions which is not for students but for young lawyers and legal service officers who have been qualified for practice for no more than three years.  The annual competition presents an ideal opportunity for them to showcase and hone their skills as advocates.

This year's moot problem was based on a fictitious dispute before the Singapore International Commercial Court and involved two contractual issues: whether an anti-oral variation clause in an agreement precluded an oral variation of the agreement, and whether a term of good faith could be implied into the agreement. The dispute arose because two parties had entered into a quasi-lease agreement to develop a food centre, and the lessor terminated the agreement after the lessee had made late payments on two occasions.  Each team, which comprises two members, had to compete in two preliminary rounds before the top eight advanced to the knockout stages.  Many of the knockout rounds were judged by senior members of the legal profession of Singapore and England, including Senior Counsel and Queen's Counsel.

[Photo: Bethel at the ECC-SAL International Moot Competition 2017 finals.  Photo credit: Chen Siyuan.]

On her team’s victory, Bethel said, “I felt that the standard of the competition was very high and there were a lot of very good teams.  It's amazing that we ended up with an all-SMU final despite how strong all the other teams were.  This says something about the University’s international moots programme, to which all of us finalists owe the skills and experience which got us through the ECC-SAL moot.”

As the winning team, Bethel and Nicholas will be offered an all-expenses paid two-week internship at Essex Court Chambers in London, one of the leading commercial set of barristers’ chambers in England.

“The law school celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year and this was a perfect way to kick-off what is going to be a fantastic year.  The whole point about our moot programme is to prepare law students for practice, and the fact that all the finalists earned high praise from every judge who saw them is a vindication of our work,” said Assistant Professor of Law Chen Siyuan, who heads the International Moots Programme at the SMU School of Law.

About mooting support at SMU

SMU School of Law’s mooting teams have reached 36 international championship finals, winning 17 since the School’s inception in 2007.  It has also reached the championship final on its international debut in 11 moots, winning 6.  This success can be attributed to a structured moot training programme which has been rolled out since Academic Year 2009-2010.

The law school’s notable achievements have garnered the attention and support of the legal fraternity in Singapore.  In August 2015, WongPartnership became the official and exclusive law firm partner of SMU’s International Moots Programme for three years, whereby the firm will take an active role in mentoring, guiding, and training SMU mooters alongside the programme's principal coaches.  In addition, the programme has also found support from veteran lawyer Mr Joseph Grimberg SC, a Consultant at Drew & Napier, which has resulted in subject prize awards for the best student and top oralist in the International Moots modules at SMU.

Besides faculty members and partners in the law fraternity who dedicate their time to coach and mentor the teams, School of Law’s moot training programme also continues to receive strong support from SOL alumni.  Many contribute actively as coaches and mentors for various international moot teams even after graduation.  In 2014, an International Mooters Alumni Group, now comprising almost 180 moot alumni from the first five batches of law graduates who participated in the international moot competitions, was also formed. 

Having benefitted from the resources and support that were put into coaching them for success when they were student mooters, the Group started a fundraising initiative with the hope to see future generations of SMU international mooters achieve new levels of excellence in the global arena.  As of December 2016, more than $120,000 had been raised (including pledges) from SMU law faculty, SMU alumni as well as the law fraternity. 

[Featured Photo: Nicholas Liu (2nd from left) and Bethel Chan (3rd from left) with (left to right) Justice Anselmo Reyes, Andrew Hochhauser QC and Justice Quentin Loh.  Photo credit: Chen Siyuan.]