{"id":4865,"date":"2020-02-19T13:53:14","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T13:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/?p=4865"},"modified":"2020-03-20T22:46:30","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T22:46:30","slug":"olivier-and-paul-georg-win-regional-heat-of-national-client-interviewing-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/olivier-and-paul-georg-win-regional-heat-of-national-client-interviewing-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivier and Paul-Georg win regional heat of national Client Interviewing Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Law students Olivier Pacaud and Paul-Georg Ender will be representing Kent in the national final of the annual Client Interviewing Competition<\/a> after winning the Southern Regional heat on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Olivier and Paul-Georg worked as a pair to interview a ‘client’ (a role-playing actor) in two different simulated law office scenarios. The law topic for both interviews was Damage to Property (Civil Law)<\/a>. One client was involved in a dispute with a neighbour about a tree and another raised an animal welfare issue. Teams were assessed according to strict criteria<\/a> that focused on their interpersonal skills as well as their ability to handle a legal problem.<\/p>\n

Both Olivier and Paul-Georg felt well-prepared for the competition thanks to a preparatory workshop and coaching provided by Lucinda Griffiths<\/a> and Johanne Thompson.<\/a> Lucinda convenes a module in Client Interviewing Skills at Kent Law School and Johanne is a Regional Director for the CIC. She also judges both national and international competitions for client interviewing, mooting and negotiation.<\/p>\n

All students taking the Client Interviewing Skills at Kent compete in an internal competition – Olivier and Paul-Georg beat more than 20 other teams in the School to earn their place in the regional heat. They said: ‘We’re very self-critical of our own performance and we think that has really helped us to keep improving. We also did a lot of practice interviews and we’re very grateful to fellow law student Schnell Findley who gave up her time to be our “client”! It’s been a rewarding experience to represent our University in the regional heat and we’re very much looking forward to representing Kent in the national final.’<\/p>\n

Four teams from each of three regional rounds now progress to the National Finals which will be held in London on Saturday 14 March.<\/p>\n

The CIC is run by a committee of academics from law schools in England & Wales with prizes given by the Law Society of England & Wales. It is part of the International Client Consultation Competition<\/a> which, this year, will be hosted by Stetson University College of Law in Tampa, Florida, from Wednesday 15 – Saturday 18 April.<\/p>\n

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Client Interviewing is one of three alternative dispute resolution options open to law students at Kent; the other two are Mediation<\/a> and Negotiation<\/a>. Students can also\u00a0develop\u00a0practical legal skills\u00a0<\/a>through participation in\u00a0the work of\u00a0Kent Law Clinic,<\/a> and by taking extra-curricular modules in Mooting<\/a> and Mock Trial Advocacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n