Lack of Gender Balance at Vic Championship Moot

Nicholas Baum
Volume 3, Issue 9, (Originally Published on Monday 6 May 2013)
 
This Thursday, the Victorian Championship Moot is being held at the Federal Court, with third-years Josh Anderson, Lewis Cohen and Alex Maschmedt representing Melbourne Law School against Monash University.
 
Leaving the title of the event aside (a championship moot to which only two of Victoria’s seven law schools were invited), the selection of the team for this inaugural event raised some eyebrows.
 
Anderson and Cohen won the internal mooting competition in 2012, and were obvious selections. However, while Maschmedt has an enviable resume as a member and coach of the Jessup team, and will no doubt be a valuable contributor, no selection process was held for the final position.
 
Keeping on the theme of gender issues emphasised by the recent LSS ‘Pimp My Study’ campaign, this writer can think of a number of talented female mooters who were not considered for the position. Kat Yang, Rachel Macleod, and Sophie Molyneux are all former Jessup contestants, while Sally Buckley, Alex McClure, JK Muckersie, and Stephanie Rowan have all represented the law school at external moots – and this list is far from exhaustive.
 
Given the event in part represents Melbourne Law School to the legal profession, an all-male team is not, perhaps, the best look. Monash University, in much the same vein, is sending Duncan Wallace, Jamie Blaker and Lynton Brooks.
 
Nicholas Baum