Tag Archives: competition

News

Success takes Elliott through to Hammond Cup final

The first round of the Hammond Cup took place on 22 March 2018 at Nottingham Law.

hammond cup
Kayleigh Brooks, Phillip Pearson , Jacqueline Macduff and Elliott Moulster

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the advocacy competition.  It was set up by Michael Hammond in 1968, who sadly passed away in 2017.  The competition presents a great opportunity for junior lawyers to improve their advocacy skills in a courtroom setting in front of local legal professionals.

Elliott Moulster competed for the second year running.  You can read about last year’s competition here and here.

Those taking part in the first round of the competition this year were challenged to either present a fee in mitigation or an application for a summary judgement.

This year presented judges with a particularly high standard of advocacy, and there were just a few points between each competitor.  This year the judges included our own crime solicitor Jim Buckley, although not, of course, judging Elliott.

Elliott made it though to the final along with Jacqueline Macduff from the Johnson Partnership, Phillip Pearson of Cartwright King and Kayleigh Brooks of the Ropewalk Chambers.

The final of the Hammond Cup is due to take place on Thursday 19 April, again at the Law School.  It will involve each of the competitors undertaking a trial.  Spectators are welcome, and we wish all competitors the best of luck.

News

Advocacy competition success for Trainee

advocacy competition hammond cup trainee solicitor
Trainee solicitor Elliott Moulster

Trainee solicitor Elliott Moulster is through to the final of Nottinghamshire Law Society’s prestigious Hammond Cup advocacy competition following a strong performance in the first round.

The Hammond Cup is an advocacy competition open to any local trainee solicitor, pupil barrister and paralegal. Judges are local practitioners.  They look for candidates who show clarity of expression, thoroughness and, of course, persuasiveness in the arguments that they put forward.

49th year of advocacy competition

The competition is in its 49th year so many well known names have taken part in the past.  VHS Fletchers and previous firms Varley Hadley Siddall and Fletchers solicitors had a strong tradition of encouraging trainees to take part in the competition.

As a result, several of the staff at VHS Fletchers have taken part.  They went on to qualify as criminal defence solicitors.  These include Derek Brown, Andrew Wesley, Alex Chapman, David Gittins and Lauren Manuel.

Plea in Mitigation

For the first round, Elliott was asked to present a plea in mitigation for Nelson Muntz, a character from the Simpsons. Poor Nelson found himself before the Court charged with assault by beating.

trainee crime solicitor hammond cup

The exercise was treated like a real Magistrates’ Court hearing and so took place in one of Nottingham Law School’s impressive mock courtrooms. Although the outcome of the sentence was not announced, Elliott clearly mitigated well on behalf of his client.

The argument that he  presented was clear, reasoned and sensible. The judges were impressed enough to advance him to the final.

Final to be decided on 13 April 2017

The final takes place at Nottingham Law School on 13th April. Elliott will be tasked with preparing a full mock trial as he faces his fellow finalists. The competition will be strong but we have every faith in him to bring the trophy home!

Good luck Elliott!

More information about the competition can be found here.