On 4th and 5th February 2021 the Young Lawyers Contest took place online.
This contest was the third edition of the Young Lawyers Contest and has been organised in partnership with the Warsaw Bar Association and with the support of the CCBE. The project is co-financed by the Justice Programme of the EU 2014-2020.
This year’s contest, with ten teams of selected young lawyers from 12 countries across the European Union, has been held in a virtual world with each participant and judge taking the form of a personally tailored avatar. The event was made possible through the use of software provided by VirBela. This software offers numerous and sophisticated tools to enable an interactive experience.
Over the course of two days, the teams successfully completed several rounds, including written presentations, a negotiation exercise, and a Moot Court.
Ms Wendy de Bondt, Assistant Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Ghent, as one of the jury members who chaired the Moot Court, praised the winning teams for the quality of the written reports and their ability to disentangle complex legal issues whilst providing a remarkably clear and comprehensive presentation, both in the written assignment and in the oral pleading.
The contest prizes totalling € 3,500 for the winning teams were generously donated by the Friends of ERA Association:
• 1st prize of €2000 was awarded to Team 4:
Laura Dorneanu, Romania
Julius Malka, Finnland
Laura Coeckelberghs, Belgium
• 2nd prize of € 1,000 was won by Team 1:
Robert Brodzik, Poland
Rosanna Laurikainen-Klami, Finnland
Cindy Svihalek, Slovakia
Oana Mirela Manu, Romania
• 3rd prize of € 500 went to Team 11:
Piotr Bartosz Szczepański, Poland
Andrea Stănică, Romania
Alina Škiljić ´, Croatia
Congratulations to all winning teams and individuals!
This year we felt the calibre of all the contestants was just as high as last year and we are glad that they were all given the opportunity to attend the contest and compete against their peers.
All participants of the Young Lawyers Contest will receive a certificate of attendance, which also indicates the number of training hours, as well as a free membership for one year of the Friends of ERA Association, which brings a number of benefits. The winning teams have also received a voucher for an ERA conference of their choice, to be redeemed before the end of 2021.