Moot Court Bench Member - Semester I, 2009

Chief Justice

fracer_roberts.jpgFraser Robertson

 Fraser Robertson is currently in the second year of a straight Law degree. He has been involved in mooting since his first year. He strongly believes mooting is one of the best ways that law students can train in advocacy and communication skills while at university.

Fraser is currently competing in Murdoch’s International Virtual Intellectual Property Moot. Fraser has been employed as a paralegal at Legal Aid WA since 2007. In his work he engages directly with clients. This can often be quite confronting and the ability to speak in a clear and concise manner is a skill essential to his work. Fortunately, it is also a skill that translates to and from mooting. As a member of the Moot Court Bench in 2008/2009 Fraser’s aim is to foster student advocacy within Murdoch University and to promote and mentor Mooting activities within the Law School.

A few of Fraser’s interests include paintball and installing custom car stereos. Fraser is also currently in the process of undergoing Officer Selection with the Australian Army Reserve.

Excutive Justice

emma_taylor.jpgEmma Taylor

 Emma Taylor is currently in her second year of a Law/Commerce (Human Resource Management) degree. As a member of the Moot Court Bench she aims to develop her own personal advocacy skills and, in addition, to encourage others to also become involved in mooting. Emma has competed in both Junior Mooting and Senior Mooting competitions and was awarded second place in the Senior Mooting competition in 2008. As a result Emma was invited to represent Murdoch University at the annual ALSA 2008 competition as part of the Murdoch Mooting team. The team qualified for the quarter finals and was placed in the top 8 of the mooting competition. Emma has also taken part in extra-curricular debating competitions at Murdoch University.

Outside of University Emma enjoys sport, in particular karate, which she has been doing for three years. She also has a passion for music, having performed with the West Australian Opera Company and at various venues around Australia.

Associate Justice

premila.jpgPremila Ratnam

 Premila Ratnam is currently in her 3rd year of a Law/Commerce double degree at Murdoch University. Premila’s interest in mooting developed after competing in the Junior Mooting in her first year in which she reached the semi-finals. Since then she has participated in the Senior Mooting competition and was also a member of Murdoch’s 2007/08 Phillip C. Jessup International Moot Team. Premila believes that mooting provides students with oral advocacy skills which cannot be learnt in any classroom. Outside of university, Premila also studies French, and is a keen Latin and Hip-Hop dancer.

andrew_tan.jpgAndrew Tan

 Andrew Tan  is in his 2nd year and is currently pursuing a double degree in a Bachelor of Law as well as a Bachelor of Commerce (Banking). After qualifying for the quarter finals for Junior Mooting in his freshmen year, his enthusiasm for mooting grew along with his hunger for an improvement in fundamental advocacy skills which are clearly crucial for lawyers.

Andrew hopes that his stay in the Moot Court Bench will broaden his horizons towards mooting and bring about countless memorable experiences. He beats the drums in his free time and would occasionally seek entertainment doing gardening.

marina_georgiou.jpgMarina Georgiou

 Marina Georgiou  is in her 2nd year of graduate law at Murdoch Law School. In 2006 she completed a Bachelor of Arts and Honours at UWA majoring in Political Science, History and European studies.

Marina first became involved in mooting at in the 2007 Junior Mooting Competition where she was a finalist. Marina is a member of Murdoch’s Phillip C. Jessup Moot team for 2009 and also works as a paralegal at the Employment Law Centre WA. Marina looks forward to a busy semester and can’t wait to be on the other side of the gavel at the Junior Mooting Competition.

bhavani.jpgBhavani Parameswaran

 Bhavani Parameswaran is in her penultimate year of a 6 year Law/Asian Studies (Specialist) double degree. A harrowing experience in Junior Mooting saw Bhavani depart the mooting scene for a few years. With great trepidation, she recommenced senior mooting in 2008 and advanced through to the semi-finals. While Bhavani now regrets her three year hiatus, she is enjoying all forms of competitions and encourages everyone to give them a go. She hopes to be able to share her newfound passion for mooting with others, helping to allay well-substantiated fears.

Bhavani is a strong advocate of ADR. She is a Research Assistant for the Western Australian Institute of Dispute Management. She is also a member of Murdoch’s International Law School Negotiation and Mediation team. When Bhavani is not debating contentious issues, she can be found espousing Japanese language, culture, and sign language.

aaron_de_jong.jpgAaron de Jong

 Aaron de Jong is in his second year of a Law degree. Aaron competed in the Junior Mooting competition in 2007 with distinction. He progressed to the semi-finals. Aaron had strong prospects for selection in the 2009 Murdoch team for the Manfred Lachs International Space Law Mooting team prior to Dr Nase taking leave. Aaron has a strong interest in advocacy and the art of judging and will make a valuable contribution to the MCB in 2008-2009. In mid-2009 Aaron hopes to study overseas at the University of Uppsala in Sweden.

stephen.jpgStephen Olynyk

 Stephen Olynyk is currently in his third year of his Juris Doctor degree at Murdoch University. Prior to studying law at Murdoch he completed a Bachelor of Arts at Notre Dame Australia majoring in Politics and Behavioural Science.

Stephen first became involved in mooting in the 2007 Junior Mooting competition. Stephen was a member of Murdoch’s Manfred Lachs International Space Law Moot team in 2009. Outside of university Stephen enjoys (and fails abysmally at) getting out on an indoor soccer pitch and is a recovering Guitar Hero addict.

ashleigh_callahan.jpgAshleigh Callahan

 Ashleigh Callahan is in her penultimate year of a double degree in Law and Commerce. She joined the Moot Court Bench to participate in Murdoch's many mooting competitions and to develop her own advocacy skills. Ashleigh has previously worked as a graphic designer in advertising. She is looking to combine this experience with law, looking for a future law career in intellectual property and advertising issues relating to branding, marketing, advertising and product promotion. She believes that a key component of this is litigation and wishes to develop her advocacy skills. Ashleigh is also the current Publicity Executive of MSLS and enjoys being involved in the student community within the law school. Outside of law, Ashleigh has a passion for the arts she enjoys painting, figure skating, ballet and photography.

felicity.jpgFelicity Cecil

 Felicity Cecil is currently in her penultimate year of a Juris Doctor degree. In 2006 she completed a Bachelor of Health Science at UWA majoring in Population Health and Cellular Physiology. She has been a keen advocate of mooting since first year, reaching the semi-finals in Junior mooting. Felicity was a member of the 2009 Murdoch team for the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. She would like to encourage mooting at Murdoch as she believes it really helps students develop important academic and practical skills, which she feels will give them an edge later in life.

ryan_van_der_merwe_.jpgRyan van der Merwe

 Ryan van der Merwe is in his second year of law at Murdoch. He first became interested in the world of mooting after competing in the Blake Dawson Junior Mooting Competition and reaching the finals. Ryan hopes that his current involvement with the Moot Court Bench will serve as a pathway to competing in future international moots. Ryan's other interests include playing sport (mainly soccer), watching TV and folding paper cranes.

stacey.jpgStacey Watts

 Stacey Watts is currently in her second year of a double law/commerce degree. She was first exposed to mooting in the Australian Legal Systems Practice Moot and in Junior Mooting. Stacey looks forward to applying for an international moot in future years.

Stacey enjoys playing the piano and is becoming even more of a Turbo Jam fan every day (Turbo Jam is a type of exercise mixing kickboxing with dance).