Client Interviewing Regional Champions

Friday, 16 February 2018

Postgraduate law students at Oxford Brookes have won the South West Regional Final of the National Client Interviewing Competition of England and Wales.

Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) students, Helena Goddard and Chris Wells took part in the Regional Championships of the Competition on Saturday 10 February.

They performed exceptionally well and defeated teams from the Universities of Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Law (Birmingham), Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, South Wales, West of England, Winchester and Worcester. They will now represent Oxford Brookes University in the National Final, which is taking place at the University of Greenwich on Saturday 10th March.

Client interviewing competitions involve working as a team of two to interview and advise a “client” (a role-playing actor). Teams are observed and judged on criteria like interpersonal skills and the ability to handle a legal problem. Client interviewing is an important skill for all trainee lawyers to develop, as it involves establishing a relationship with a client, communicating with them, and providing advice based on the nature of the legal problem they discern.

Principal Lecturer in Law and National Training Co-ordinator for the Client Interviewing Competition for England and Wales, Marc Howe commented “Helena and Chris performed extremely well, and can be very proud of their achievements in the client interviewing competition".

More information about Client Interviewing at Oxford Brookes can be found on the School of Law webpages.