COMPETITIONS

NZLSA hosts an annual National Conference, bringing together the regional champions from all six law schools to compete for national titles in Mooting, Witness Examination, Client Interviewing, Negotiation, and Paper Presentation. NZLSA's Patron, Glazebrook J annually attends our Conference to judge the national finals and to deliver a keynote speech at the Closing Gala.

Read the competition rules here

Read the list of past competition winners here

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Blue trophy with handles on a black background
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Open Mooting


The Bell Gully Open Mooting Competition takes place on a regional and national level. Regional winners will qualify to compete at the NZLSA National Conference.  As one of the most prestigious competitions, national finalists will have the opportunity to be judged by her Honour Justice Glazebrook. Thee regional winners will qualify to compete at the Australian Law Students’ Association Conference, and national winners will qualify to compete in the largest moot competition in the world, the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington D.C.

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Client Interviewing


The IPLS Client Interviewing Competition takes place on a regional and national level. The Client interviewing competition is renowned for its practical application to the legal sector. The regional winners have the opportunity to compete at the NZLSA National Conference and Australian Law Students’ Association Conference. The national winners qualify to compete in the Brown-Mosten International Client Consultation Competition.

People attending a negotiation competition final in a conference room, with a panel seated at the front and a presentation screen in the background.

Senior Negotiation


The Buddle Findlay Senior Negotiation Competition takes place on a regional, national and international level. Negotiation is an incredibly practical and valuable competition that equips competitors with key problem solving skills to take into their legal profession. The regional winners get to compete at the NZLSA National Conference and Australian Law Students’ Association Conference. Winners of the national competition qualify to compete in the International Negotiation Competition.

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Witness Examination


The Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Witness Examination Competition takes place on a regional, national and international level. The witness examination competition replicates key advocacy skills, providing an invaluable experience for students wishing to pursue litigation. The regional winners qualify to compete at the NZLSA National Conference and Australian Law Students’ Association Conference.

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Paper Presentation


The LexisNexis Paper Presentation Competition is designed to help law students develop their research, writing, and presentation skills. It involves competitors researching and writing a legal essay on a topic of their choice, and then presenting it to a panel of judges. Participants can choose to write something specifically for the competition or reuse assignments they have already completed. The written papers should be 3,000-5,000 words long. Winners of the regional rounds will qualify to compete at the NZLSA National Conference and Australian Law Students’ Association Conference.

Click here for more information

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Click here to download the NZLSA National and Regional Law Students’ Competitions Rules.

(Constitution Schedule 1), as at 1 March 2019.