Why you should take part

What is the Client Interviewing Competition? A committee member's perspective.

My name is Matthew Parry. Today I am a solicitor-advocate, a PhDstudent, a committee member, and one ofthe National Training Officersfor the England and Wales Client Interviewing Competition. In 2005, however, I was a student at Cardiff Law School studying the Bar Vocational Course (now Bar Professional Training Course) and hunting for a mooting competition that I had not yet experienced. When I saw an intra university e-mail advertising the Client Interviewing Competition, I was intrigued, mainly because I had never heard of it, and didn't have a clue what it was! Ten years later it can be seen that I remain heavily involved with the competition, and yet my initial reaction often mirrors that of many contemporary students. As a result, the purpose of this piece is to explain, not the forensic details of the competition which other pieces deal with, but a broad understanding of what the competition entails, and why students should consider participating... [read more]