Youth Advocacy Competition

Launched at the end of 2007, the Competition, the first of its kind in Jersey, gave students the opportunity to put their trial skills to the test and act out different court scenarios whilst competing against teams from other local schools.

The initiative was received with huge interest, with almost 120 students entering the competition in teams of two from De La Salle, Hautlieu, JCG, Beaulieu and Victoria College.

Over the course of eight weeks, the teams prepared arguments relating to a variety of fictional cases, which they presented before members of the BakerPlatt litigation team.

At each knockout stage, the teams were judged on their delivery, clarity of thought, preparation and understanding of the law. Only the highest scoring teams at each stage of the competition proceeded to the next round.

The 59 participating teams were gradually whittled down to a final two - Samuel Mezec (17) and James Andrews (17) and Joanna Hargreaves (17) and Rachael Crosby (16), all from Hautlieu School. In the final, they were asked to act as the defence and prosecution in a mock trial surrounding a smash and grab raid on a technology store.

Staged in the Royal Court and presided over by the Bailiff Sir Philip Bailhache, the teams had to review transcripts and cross-examine witnesses before summing up their case and giving closing speeches to the court.

Ultimately it was the all-girl team from Hautlieu who won the first ever BakerPlatt Youth Advocacy Competition. As well as winning finalists trophies and being crowned ’BakerPlatt Youth Advocates’ for 2008, Joanna and Rachael also received a week-long mini-pupillage at London Chambers, Seven Bedford Row, which included accommodation and tickets for a concert or show.

Crown Advocate Stephen Baker, Senior Partner of BakerPlatt, explained:

"Building on our hugely successful bursary scheme in 2007, the Youth Advocacy Competition gave young people in Jersey an opportunity to gain rare and invaluable experience of working in the legal profession. We believe that initiatives such as these are really important, both in helping us to identify, encourage and develop talent and in giving Jersey’s future generation of lawyers a chance to shine."