University of Aberdeen Law Diploma students Ailsa Gardyne and Callum Leeson are set to represent Scotland on the international stage after winning the Scottish Client Consultation Competition.
The competition, which was held at Dundee University, saw teams from four Scottish law schools take part in simulated lawyer/client interviews where they were marked on their performance by a panel of expert judges.
The theme of this year's national competition was International Humanitarian Law, which saw the Aberdeen team tackle issues such as asylum and human trafficking
Ailsa and Callum will now go forward to represent Scotland at the Brown - Mosten International Client Consultation Competition, which this year is jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
Taking place at the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin, Poland, from 10 to 13 April, in recent years it has attracted law students from 38 countries around the world.
“Preparing for and taking part in this competition has been a great experience to develop my skills in conducting client interviews which will be hugely beneficial for my legal career. It was amazing to win the national competition and see all of our efforts in preparing for the competition recognised this way,” said Ailsa.
“It is something we are both very proud of achieving. Going into the international competition to represent Scotland will be an amazing opportunity for us to take on the invaluable feedback given by the Judges in the competition and further develop these skills to do the Scottish legal community proud!”
"Participating in the Client Consultation Competition has been a great experience and to win was just an added bonus. Working closely with Ailsa and Val as well as getting to meet and interact with all the judges and other competitors at the competition has been a particular highlight,” added Callum.
“The Competition has also been a valuable learning experience, as I have gained an insight into the technicalities of working as a team to deal with clients in complex situations. I look forward to building on these skills ahead of the international competition which I am sure will be another invaluable experience."
Val Bremner, who is the Director of the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at the University's School of Law, congratulated the pair on their success.
She said: “This is an exciting win for Ailsa and Callum, and the Law School is very proud of the level of commitment they showed in their preparations for the Client Consultation Competition.
“Their success is a testament to the talent that we have here at the school, and of the efforts that our students go to when representing the University. We congratulate them on their performance in the national competition and wish them both good luck for the next stage.”