Young European Lawyers Contest

Aim of the contest

The contest will bring together young and newly-qualified lawyers to spotlight the importance of European law for their future legal practice.
In teams composed of contestants from different European countries, they will be challenged to apply their knowledge of European law in practical role-play scenarios. Under the watchful eye of a jury of leading European law practitioners, they will learn to work with peers from other legal cultures to build strong cases in areas as diverse as fundamental rights and the rule of law, access to justice, economic law, cross-border cooperation in civil and commercial matters, and criminal justice. The contestants will be judged both on their knowledge of European law and on their advocacy skills in drafting written arguments, conducting negotiations and pleading before a judge. The contest is an opportunity for national and regional Bars to encourage their young lawyers to get excited about European law and to learn how to use it to improve their day-to-day practice.

Award to candidates

All candidates having participated in the Young European Lawyers Contest will be granted a certificate of attendance mentioning the number of training hours.


“On behalf of Team 1 as the 2nd winning team of the Young European Lawyers Contest 2020/2021, we would like to express the excitement that we felt throughout the entire contest. This contest has enriched us with new knowledge, experiences, new friendships, and last but not least it helped us to develop and deepen our critical thinking on various issues related to European law. We strongly recommend that other young lawyers and trainee lawyers participate in the Young European Lawyers Contest that we believe will be organized every year.”

Robert BRODZIK, Rosanna LAURIKAINEN-KLAMI,
Oana Mirela MANU and Cindy SVIHALEK (Team 1, second winning team 2021)


“The Young European Lawyers Contest is a great opportunity for young lawyers to meet people from across Europe, sharing experiences and working together as a team on interesting EU law topics. It is a well-organised competition consisting of several rounds testing you on every possible skill a lawyer should have. ”

Laura COECKELBERGHS, (member of team 4, first winning team 2021)


For any other information on the organisation of the contest, please contact:

Florence Hartmann-Vareilles
Head of Section European Business Law
fhartmann@era.int

Nathalie Dessert
Assistant European Business Law
ndessert@era.int

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