While England and the United States have historically been allies, relationships between some citizens were recently put to the test inside a mock courtroom. A pair of young barristers from Gray’s Inn of London traveled to Atlanta to challenge University of Georgia School of Law students to a courtroom duel. Representing Georgia Law were third-year students John M. Moorhead and Elizabeth L. Cavagnolo. A panel of five distinguished judges heard oral arguments and received written briefs. On the judging panel were Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman S. Fletcher, Georgia Supreme Court justices George H. Carley and P. Harris Hines, and Georgia Court of Appeals judges J.D. Smith and Charles B. Mikell.
Held in late September, this moot court competition was the 11th exchange between UGA and Gray’s Inn since its inception in 1983. Teams from the two entities meet every other year, once on U.S. soil and once on British soil, to challenge each other in the courtroom. This unique experience exposes Georgia law students to top English barristers and promotes an understanding of other cultures and legal systems. When in England, the competition operates under American judicial rules and, when in the United States, the English judicial system is employed.
Gray’s Inn is one of the four London Inns of Court to which all English barristers must belong. It has been a prominent legal institution for centuries, with memberships dating back to 1388.
This competition, along with a similar program involving King’s Inn in Dublin, Ireland, is financed in part by the William Carroll Brown Fund.
