1
Advocate of the Year
2019-20
General Competition Rules
1. Introduction
1.1 Advocate of the Year 2019-20 is an annual, national mock trial competition, open
to undergraduate students who have not yet commenced their legal vocational
tr aining (i.e. BPTC, BTC or LPC), provided they have not previously taken part in
the competition.
1.2 The competition will be judged by BPP University Law School tutors, who are all
qu alified lawyers with real trial experience.
1.3 The case studies used in both the Regional Heats and in the Grand F inal will aim
to r e plicate the early months of practice. T hey will be designed to examine many
of the keys skills which an aspiring barrister needs to develop as a professional
ad vocate.
1.4 The competition will take place on two separate Saturdays, namely:
• 23 November 2019 (Regional Heats – all co mpetitors)
• 28 March 2020 (Grand Final – 16 Finalists)
1.5 All compe titors must be available from 9.00 to 18.00 on both 23 November 2019
an d 28 March 2020.
2. Regional Heats
2.1 The Regional Heats will be held on 23 November 2019 at BPP University Law
Schools in the following cities:
• Birmingham: 32-34 Colmore Cir cus, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6BN
• Br istol: Grove Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4QY
• Le eds: Whitehall Quay, Leeds, LS1 4HR
• London (Holborn): 68-70 Red Lion Street, London, WC1R 4NY
• Manchester: St Ja mes’ Bui ldings, 79 Oxf o rd Street, Ma nche ster, M1 6FQ
2.2 Competitors will take part in two short trials over the course of the day: one Criminal
tr ial and one Civil tr ial. They will score marks for the quality of their performance,
while pla ying a specific role at that trial. Every competitor will per form one role
du r ing each trial, which BPP will allocate at random and notify each competitor of
in advance. Each competitor will perform twice overall in their Regional Heat, which
will include one witness handling performance (i.e. Examination-in-Chief or Cross-
Examination), where professional actors play the roles of the witnesses.
