The Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition is an event for Year 11, 12 and 13 students to develop their advocacy skills in a competitive environment. Approximately 40 New Zealand schools participate in an intense competition held over May–July each year.
The Waikato Faculty of Law is the only New Zealand law school that hosts this competition. It has done so since 2001.
Future lawyers get to practice many practical legal skills during their study—client interviewing, witness examination, negotiations—but mooting is considered to be the most prestigious as it poses a number of professional and personal challenges.
Through the competition you will learn and apply vital legal skills.
You will:
- Develop and present a legal argument and opinion
- Learn the process of legal reasoning
- Learn the principles of legal research
- Enhance your public speaking and presentation skills
- Learn the process of litigation (taking a case to court)
- Learn about courtroom etiquette and procedures
- Discover sources of law in New Zealand.
2024 Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition
I am interested – what shall I do?
First, to participate in the 2025 Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition, you need to register your interest. You can do so by:
- filling in the Waikato National Secondary Schools' Mooting Competetion registration form, or
- by emailing us at lawevents@waikato.ac.nz
Please download our Mooting Handbook for more information.
Next steps
After registration, Te Piringa will send you the mooting fact scenario and a set of materials that you will use for your legal research. All schools will be sent the same set of materials. During the first round of the competition, each school moots against one other school.
Because there are two sides to a moot, your school will be given a side of the moot to take from the outset. It is up to your school to decide how a team will be selected. Each team should have 2-3 competitors. We allow no more than 3 teams from each school to enter the competition.
If you want your team to benefit from the coaching of an experienced legal practitioner, but you are not sure how to find one, get in touch with Te Piringa. The Faculty of Law of the University of Waikato has established great working relationships with many law firms, judges and legal practitioners across New Zealand.
Te Piringa alumni work in Auckland, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Wellington, and many other parts of the country. Many of these experienced lawyers are happy to get involved. We will do our best to find an experienced coach to work with your team.
A moot is a legal debate in a courtroom setting with a judge or a panel of judges. A moot usually focuses on areas of law that have been subject to recent developments, or concern an area of uncertainty within the law.
A mooting competition puts two opposing teams of ‘lawyers’ against each other to argue their legal case based on the facts of the problem before a judge. Mooting has been part of the lawyers’ training for court procedures for hundreds of years, and it plays an important role in becoming familiar with the legal system.
The key to mooting is the art of persuasion. Your job as a counsellor is to convince the judge that your interpretation of the law is the most appropriate to the cas. The problems selected will give each counsel an equal chance to persuade the judge of the quality of their submission. This can be achieved by skilfully applying the relevant law and legal principles to the facts of your case.
Much like in a court, this competition puts two opposing teams of ‘lawyers’ against each other to argue a legal case before a judge. The ‘lawyers’ will prepare their case based on the fact problem provided.
Mooting is only concerned with the points of law. Therefore, your job as a lawyer will be to convince the judge that your interpretation of the law is the most appropriate to the case. This can be achieved by skilfully applying the relevant law and legal principles to the facts of your case.
Watch our Facebook Video and hear what participants had to say after Preliminary rounds of the 2015 Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition.
Download and read this Mooting Handbook; it will provide you with practical guidance for court etiquette and written submissions.
The Handbook will also cover general points of mooting, as well as outline the competition rules and regulations.
We have organised a workshop to guide you through the preparation process. The workshop will help you to tackle the scenario problem and identify what is at the core of the argument on both sides; give you some tips on how to structure your submission and what strategies to employ to make a strong impression on the judge, and persuade them to accept your arguments.
View 2024 Schools' Mooting Workshops:
View 2018 Schools' Mooting Workshops:
- Secondary Schools' Mooting Workshop - Part 1
- Secondary Schools' Mooting Workshop - Part 2a
- Secondary Schools' Mooting Workshop - Part 2b
Access both 2024 PowerPoint presentations:
Hamilton-based firm McCaw Lewis Lawyers and Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa have paired up with the Faculty once again offering additional prizes and awards:
- First prize: The winning team will receive a $400 cash prize as well as a tour/visit of McCaw Lewis Lawyers (sponsored by McCaw Lewis Lawyers).
- Second prize: The runner-up team will receive a $250 cash prize, as well as a visit/tour of McCaw Lewis Lawyers (sponsored by McCaw Lewis Lawyers).
- Best Individual Mooter: Best Mooter trophy cup and a $250 cash prize (sponsored by McCaw Lewis Lawyers).
- Best Māori Mooter: Best Māori Mooter trophy cup and a $250 cash prize (sponsored by Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa).
All participants will be awarded a Certificate of Participation.
2025 prizes to be confirmed
Important dates for 2025
The schedule is a basic outline of the relevant steps to be followed in this competition:
| Expressions of interest | 10 February 2025 |
| Mooting problem is sent out | 19 March 2025 |
| Submissions deadline | 30 April 2025 |
| Preliminary rounds | Mid-May 2025* |
| Semi-finals | 26 June 2025 |
| Final | 3 July 2025 |
(*currently for information purposes only and may be subject to change)
Previous Competition Results
In 2024, we continued our collaboration with the Hamilton-based law firm McCaw Lewis Lawyers, who provided sponsorship and support to Te Piringa – Faculty of Law, as well as Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, for the mooting competition.
2024 Competition Winners - Rototuna Senior High School, Team 2 (Rototuna Lion)
Represented by Ellen Li, Maryam Falak Falaah, and Lucia Sasso.
| Runners-up | Hamilton Boys' High School represented by Tanyon Osborne, Terrence Fu, and Connor Downey-Parish. |
| Best Mooter of the Competition | Lucia Sasso |
| Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa Best Māori Mooter | Monica Ataahua Ngaire Young |
Represented by James Macey and Kaya Selby.
Runners-up: Waikato Diocesan for Girls represented by Joyce Hu and Harper Smith
Best Mooter of the Competition: Harper Smith
New Zealand Māori Law Society Best Māori Mooter: Harper Smith
Represented by Jack Lee, Will Ford and Rawiri Mahue
Runners-up: Hamilton Boys' High School represented by Sameer Mandhan, Henry Yao and Joseph Licht
Best Mooter of the Competition: Sameer Mandhan
New Zealand Māori Law Society Best Māori Mooter: Harper Smith
Best New School Mooting Team: Diocesan School for Girls, Auckland
Represented by Reuben Hurliman, Sameer Mandhan and Liam Haughey.
Amy Spittal, Emma Fountaine and Charlotte McCall
Matthew Handford, Samuel Turnbull and Jacob Cheatley
Olivia Maxwell, Emily Scrimgeour and Kate Hamilton
Tessa Adams, Niamh Blackman and Loren McCarthy
Lydia Verschaffelt, Emily van Arendonk and Loren McCarthy
Hannah Maxwell, Kayla Grant and Ria Nadakkavukaran
Sacred Heart Girls' College, Hamilton
Simon O'Donnell and Tihomir Mijatov
Dhaxna Sothieson, Daniel McGregor and Tom Chen
Louis Chambers and Gemma Lambert
Zara Brouwers, Chloe Muggeridge and Frances Kerslake
Assil Russell, Jimmy Li and Pavithra Vigneswaran