One of VWL’s key objectives is to remove barriers and increase opportunities for participation by, and advancement of, women in the legal profession in Victoria.
2024 – WARREN MOOT APPLICATIONS
Applications for the 10th Anniversary of the Warren Moot are now open!
Registrations have now closed. Please email [email protected] to be placed on the wait list.
THE WARREN MOOT
About the program
The Warren Moot was named in honour of the former Chief Justice Marilyn Warren of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The Moot provides participants with an opportunity to test their advocacy skills and engage directly with respected members of the judiciary, namely judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, County Court and Federal Circuit Court.
The Warren Moot is open to law students, graduates and junior solicitors.
Participants will have the opportunity to obtain feedback on their oral and written advocacy skills from members of the Victorian Bar in the mock round.
The Warren Moot is endorsed by VWL's Patron the Honourable Professor Marilyn Warren AC KC and proudly sponsored by Maddocks.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
- Participation is subject to the Moot Rules (view here).
- All participants must be members of VWL
- If you are individual and would be liked to be placed in a team, please email [email protected] to be placed on the waitlist (places are limited and we cannot guarantee a team placement)
DATES
Launch Event - Monday, 5 August 2024
Round One - Monday, 26 August 2024
Round Two - Monday, 16 September 2024
Semi-Final - Monday, 14 October 2024
Grand Final - Monday, 11 November 2024
Warren Moot Honour Board
2023 Winners - Ebony Mack, Lauren Woolley, Amanda Robinson and Summar Altaee. Best advocate awarded to Madeline Gome from the runner up team.
2022 Winners - Catherine Zhou, Mary Nguyen, Wei Wen Phang and Felicia Leong (best advocate)
2021 Winners - Jenna Dimitrakas, Clare Stambe and Monique Scalzo. Best advocate awarded to Priyanka Banerjee from the runner up team.
2020 Winners - Amelia French, Amelia Hunter (best advocate), Olivia Smedley and Sarah Tucker
2019 Winners - Margie Brown (best advocate), Steph Noack and Beatrice Paull
2018 Winners - Alexandra Harrison-Ichlov (best advocate), Michelle Ainsworth, Eleni Kannis and Emma Ffrench-Mullen
2017 Winners - Julianna Marshall, Catharine Thorpe, Holly Jager and Paige Darby
2016 Winners - Ellen Williams, Kelly Butler, Bobbi Murphy and Holly Fairhurst
2015 Winners - Reegan Morison, Katherine Farrell, Amy Yeap (best advocate) and Alice Smith
CURRENT MENTORING PROGRAMS
Professional Mentoring Program - Applications for 2024 now open!
Student Mentoring Program - Applications for 2024 now closed.
PROFESSIONAL MENTORING PROGRAM
VWL's Professional Mentoring Program is open to lawyers with less than 5 years PQE. It is designed to enable women members of the legal profession to obtain the benefits that may be drawn from a 1:1 mentoring relationship.
Applications now open!
With thanks to our event sponsor The College of Law, Victorian, Women Lawyers is excited to invite you to the participate in the Professional Mentoring Program for 2024.
Applications to participate in VWL’s Professional Mentoring Program are now open. More information about the event can be found here.
This program provides a wonderful opportunity for young professionals to connect with and be mentored by lawyers from various practice areas within the profession. The program will include an in-person launch event for mentors and mentees. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from the Program’s patron, the Honourable Associate Justice Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou.
Applications for the program will close on Friday, 30 August 2024. Places are limited, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
Mentees must be members of VWL with less than 5 years PAE and located in Victoria.
Mentors must be admitted to practice with a minimum of 5 years PAE. Mentors do not need to be members of VWL (although we do encourage mentors to be members).
For more information about VWL's mentoring programs or to become a member see our website.
Forward to a friend if you know someone who would like to be part of this program.
To participate in the Program:
Program Launch Event
We’re delighted to announce that the 2024 Professional Mentoring Program Launch will take place on Tuesday, 10 September 2024 at the College of Law.
For more information on the launch, and to register to attend, please visit our website.
VWL & WBA LAW STUDENT MENTORING PROGRAM
About the program
The Law Student Mentoring Program is a joint initiative run by Victorian Women Lawyers and the Women Barristers’ Association.
The program is a wonderful opportunity for women students to gain insight into working in the law, develop valuable networks and share ideas with mentors in the legal profession.
As we gradually return to in-person work and study, the benefits that flow from a positive mentoring relationship have the potential to be immensely valuable to both mentee and mentor alike.
Pairs are encouraged to meet face-to-face, via video link, or over the phone. You may choose to meet at VWL and WBA events, over a virtual coffee catch up, at lunchtime, weekend brunch, at the office or however suits you best! It is recommended pairs meet at least three times over a six month period, however, pairs are welcome to meet more often and to supplement/substitute meetings with emails and phone calls – whatever you feel comfortable with.
There is no ongoing commitment at the end of the program though in the past, many mentors and mentees have formed strong professional relationships and have stayed in touch.
Mentees must be members of VWL however mentors are not required to be members.
The Law Student Mentoring Program is proudly sponsored by K&L Gates.
Program history
Each year VWL receives expressions of interest in the mentoring program from students of a number of Victorian universities and tertiary institutions, including the University of Melbourne, Monash University, LaTrobe University, Deakin University, Victoria University, RMIT and Swinburne University. VWL seeks to match these students with interested legal professionals to undertake a formal mentoring relationship.
The mentoring program was first launched in 2008 and has the honour of being endorsed by Program Patron, the Honourable Marcia Neave AO, who chaired the Royal Commission into Family Violence and previously sat as a Justice of the Court of Appeal. In 2016, the Honourable Justice Rita Incerti joined the Honourable Neave as a co-patron of the program, prior to the Honourable Neave’s retirement as a patron of the program in 2019. Justice Incerti is a committed member of VWL and actively supports the professional development of female lawyers through mentoring.
The number of students expressing interest in being mentored has grown substantially since the program commenced in 2008. This demonstrates that the mentoring program continues to be highly relevant to women who are preparing to enter the legal profession, particularly as issues of sex discrimination, gender inequality, concerns of diversity for CALD women, women living with disabilities and women of the LGBTQIA+ community, and unconscious bias, as well as obstacles to flexible work practices, remain prevalent. In recent times, we have also seen an increase in interest from participants in regional centres reflecting VWL’s focus on increasing participation by members from regional areas.
VWL has now matched over 1,500 pairs in mentoring relationships since the program’s inception. This year, similar to previous years, VWL will match hundreds of mentors and mentees. To manage the overwhelming popularity of the program and encourage support for VWL, students wishing to participate in the program are required to be a VWL members (membership is not a requirement for mentors).
Please contact the Mentoring Committee at [email protected] if you have any questions.