In late February, Eeli Aakko and Jenna Senkin travelled with their teammates and coaches to Barcelona for the regional final of the European Law Moot Court (ELMC) competition. The pinnacle of a six-month effort, the trip required hard work from the students but offered them an exceptional experience in return.
“My submission, at the hearing before the judges, marked the culmination of all our work for the past months. It passed by very quickly, as I only had 10 minutes to present my arguments. But it summed up everything we’d been working for up to that moment: exploring case law, considering arguments and working on our submissions time and again,” says Aakko when asked about the competition highlight.
Aakko and Senkin are fourth-year law students interested in how the law combines social considerations with practical problem-solving. Both say their primary motives for entering the competition were interest in EU law and the opportunity to develop practical legal skills. They were also drawn by the competition’s international dimension.
“I was keen to add an international element to my studies, but the idea of a student exchange felt overwhelming. This was a good solution and one way to gain international experience, as it allowed me to travel and meet students from other countries,” notes Senkin.
Understanding a lawyer’s mindset
The strengths of moot competitions include the chance for participants to learn about the practice of law. In the ELMC competition, students represent all parties in proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union: the applicant, the defendant and the European Commission representative. When the course begins in the autumn term, students start work by preparing the applicant’s and defendant’s written submissions, that is, arguing both for and against.
“While a regular end-of-course exam seeks one correct answer, a pleading requires participants to understand how to construct and present an effective argument. It means mastering not only your own but also the other party’s arguments,” says course coordinator Pekka Pohjankoski.
At the next stage, namely the regional final, the participants argue orally before judges, similarly to a real court case. Aakko and Senkin say they learned to think in new ways during the six-month course.
“You had to put yourself in a new setting and adopt a lawyer’s perspective. The key is selecting the best method to argue for your client. It taught me to concentrate on what’s rhetorically convincing,” notes Aaakko.
An integral part of a moot competition is, of course, the assignment itself. In the ELMC competition, it is so extensive that the description and accompanying questions cover several pages.
Moot court cases typically involve a mix of traditional and current legal issues. Hence, a major factor that makes the competitions appealing to students is the opportunity to tackle current legal issues pending at the EU Court of Justice, which present challenges even for seasoned experts.
“The answers are neither easy nor unambiguously correct. Ultimately what counts is the persuasiveness of the argument,” states Pohjankoski.
What also bolsters the competition’s credibility is that the regional finals are presided over by leading professionals in the field, such as professors, judges and lawyers from different European countries. The whole competition culminates in the final in Luxembourg, with real judges of the EU Court of Justice.
Support from alumni
The four-member student team is supported by not only the course coordinator but also student coaches, who are members of the previous year’s team. In addition, alumni who have taken part in previous competitions contribute actively to coaching the team.
“The feedback we received was really personalised, with more coaches than participants sometimes attending the weekly coaching sessions. The feedback was so concrete and detailed that it served as excellent preparation,” says Senkin.
The active alumni included Senior Associate Iiris Rantanen, a specialist in technology and EU law at Krogerus Attorneys. Having participated in the competition during the 2017–2018 academic year, she has since been involved as a student coach and offered support as an alum. All alumni coaches work pro bono.
Rantanen pinpoints two qualities essential for legal counsels which developed considerably during her participation in the competition towards the end of her studies. As an inexperienced public speaker, she gained confidence through coaching and developed a style that suits her. Another important lesson involved the ability to work intensively in a small team.
“It was, so to speak, the first simulation where I worked closely in a small team month after month, much like in my current job at a law firm.”
Rantanen notes that law firms are familiar with moot court competitions, and participating in one makes an impressive addition to a CV. The firms see the rigorous training involved in the competition as free orientation to the field.
“It shows that the student is willing to dive in and commit to a project that spans several months.”
It is also valuable that former competitors are now alumni working in various roles across the legal sector, as they offer students valuable insights into career prospects in the field. During the course, participants visited the Government EU Affairs Department at the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.
As the ELMC competition is known across Europe, participation may open doors outside Finland as well.
“If you’re aiming for a career in the EU, taking part is a great practical credential to earn while studying in Helsinki,” says Rantanen.
Career prospects and lifelong friends
This time, the University of Helsinki team did not reach the final, taking place at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg in April. However, the team members are anything but disappointed.
“Although a moot competition takes a lot of time, it’s such a rewarding experience. I found participation really useful for my personal development, and the competition opened my eyes to new possibilities for my future,” says Aakko.
“The experience gave me valuable insights from different perspectives. It had many parallels to the work of a practising lawyer, which will definitely be beneficial when job hunting in the future,” adds Senkin.
An important element of the competition is its social aspect. Aakko and Senkin talk about how the team worked so closely together throughout autumn and winter that friendships naturally formed. They plan to maintain those bonds.
Himself a competition participant in 2008, Pekka Pohjankoski backs them up, noting the competition leaves participants with lasting friendships.
“As a bit of a personal story, I’ve attended the weddings of team members, and we remain in contact to this day.”