This week’s Campus Celeb is none other than the wonderful Emma Macmillan! Emma is currently studying for her Diploma in Legal Practice here at Aberdeen University, and she is this year’s president of the Aberdeen University Mooting Society.
Before we get started, we thought we would provide some knowledge about the society for those of you who are unfamiliar with the Mooting Society, or even with what mooting actually is! The Aberdeen University Mooting Society gives students (typically those who study law or legal studies) the opportunity to compete against one another by presenting a mock legal argument in front of a judge. This is a great way for students to get a taste of what it would be like to appear in court!
But that’s enough chatting from us! Let’s find out more about Emma’s experience with the society over the years.
HC: How long have you been a member of the Aberdeen University Mooting Society and what motivated you to join?
EM: I’ve been a member since first year – I joined straight away after an in-class presentation describing how it would improve my confidence and public speaking abilities. I was really impressed with the members of the society who I met – they were so poised and well presented. This really does translate into real life, with many of our alumni getting traineeships for top firms such as Pinsent Masons, Jones Day and Cove & Burlington.
Over the years I’ve been class representative, treasurer, ordinary member (or High Priestess of Mooting!) and finally President. It was such an amazing feeling to finally be sitting at the top of the table with the support of the committee after years of dedication to the society.
HC: What have you learned since taking up the role of president?
EM: I’ve learned the importance of letting go and delegating – with a full time postgraduate course and a part time job it’s impossible for me to do everything and not let anything slip. I have a great deal of support from my committee who are always ready to help. I need to work on being a bit more patient – I like everything to be done immediately, but I understand that there are pressures on everyone which means sometimes society stuff has to take a back seat. I’ve also learned that 9 – 5 is a very small window of time to get everything done, and a coffee solves everything!
HC: What events are the Mooting Society currently preparing for?
EM: We have already held our taster event and training session and are gearing up for our first year moot, allowing new students to learn the ropes under the guidance of a more experienced member of the society. This is also an opportunity for us to identify talent which might be useful in representing the university on a wider platform. We are also running our Main Faculty Moot which has proved very popular this year and covers all year groups and areas of law. We will shortly be recruiting teams for our external moots nationally, which may include international commercial law, international criminal law or intellectual property law and for our smaller subject specific moots like oil and gas law and criminal law.
It’s not all academic though as we regularly make appearances at Underground, Exodus and Nox to name a few. We also have a pretty amazing pub crawl ‘Call to the Bar’ which involves dressing up as your favourite judge, lawyer (or criminal!) and a society trip to London.
HC: How would you encourage others to become a member of the society?
EM: I’d recommend any law or legal studies student join the society – not only will it teach you the art of oral argument which will be useful for the rest of your life in any field, but it will also teach you the law itself and prepare you for assessments throughout your degree. Your employability will immediately rocket up – I can think of a few law firms who specifically ask whether you have mooted before. Our alumni network is also very strong which is helpful for application tips and information going forward. We are always looking for new talent and it’s never too late to join.
HC: What do you enjoy most about being part of the Mooting Society?
EM: Since my very first committee meeting 4 years ago, I felt included as part of a little family. I’ve made a strong group of friends which I hope I’ll keep for life and I’m so grateful for all the experiences I’ve had with them over the years. We always support each other’s endeavours in any field and are there for the good and bad times in each other’s lives. Some of the committee even live together, and we even had a mooting wedding a little while ago. Without fail, the outgoing President cries at the end of the year (yes, even the guys) and this year it’s my turn!
Thank you Emma! We wish you the best of luck for the future and we hope all goes well during your time as president!