WitEx provides New Zealand law students a unique opportunity to practise their advocacy skills in a friendly environment resembling a real courtroom hearing. The competition is fun, rewarding and a great training experience for aspiring courtroom lawyers.
The preliminary rounds and finals are held in the first half of each year, and MinterEllisonRuddWatts has proudly sponsored this competition for more than 25 years.
WitEx requires you to act as counsel in a mock court hearing before a judge. You will either appear as counsel for the prosecution/plaintiff or the defence/defendant. In each round, you will present an opening and closing address to the court and call one witness to prove your set of facts and support your case.
The key to success at WitEx is your direct examination and cross-examination of the witnesses, and you will learn a lot from the experience.
The problem question will be given to you 90 minutes before the hearing. It helps to have a general understanding of the law of evidence – 20/100 marks are allocated to how you deal with evidence law. The most important skills to demonstrate are an ability to get the information you need from a witness and to present compelling arguments.
MinterEllisonRuddWatts congratulates the winners of each regional university WitEx Competition for 2020:
| University: | Winner: | Runner-up: |
| University of Auckland | Aidan McManus | Thomas Carr |
| University of Waikato | Rebekah Te Rito | Kasey Dillon |
| University of Canterbury | Ana Pye | Sarah Flett |
| University of Otago | Kate Hursthouse | Joseph Corbett |
| Victoria University of Wellington | Fergielyn Maneja Catayoc | Meghan Grant |
| Auckland University of Technology | Jacqui Danish | Ruth Stowers |
| University: | Contact: | Dates: |
| University of Auckland | Hannah Jang
021 137 4777 Lauren Aspoas 021 126 2692 |
Preliminary: 8 March 2021
Semi Finals: 9 March 2021 Finals: 10 March 2021 |
| University of Waikato | Akasha Rio
022 326 4251 Vinod Bal 022 307 9401 |
Preliminary: 23 March 2021
Semi Finals: 24 March 2021 Finals: 25 March 2021 |
| University of Canterbury | Brenna Hadley
022 3235 654 Ella Hegarty 021 0558 600 |
Preliminary: 23 March 2021
Semi Finals: 24 March 2021 Finals: 25 March 2021 |
| University of Otago | Jaz Nathan 027 870 2702 Alex Thomson 027 941 6781 |
Preliminary: 29 March 2021
Semi Finals: 30 March 2021 Finals: 31 March 2021 |
| Victoria University of Wellington | Ella Flavell
022 600 9225 Michael Newell 027 526 988 |
Preliminary: 8 March 2021
Semi Finals: 9 March 2021 Finals: 10 March 2021 |
| Auckland University of Technology | Tasfia Mahmood
021 213 3338 Holly Whitney 021 0235 3115 |
Preliminary: 23 March 2021
Semi Finals: 24 March 2021 Finals: 25 March 2021 |