The Cayman International School (CIS) has won the inaugural Cayman Collas Crill Moot.

Students Jack Coleman and Jordan Lisle from CIS came first, with Clifton Hunter’s Jade-Ann Scott and Sashalee Taylor coming second and Cayman Prep and High School’s Ariella Rankin and Anabella Hayden in third. The final took place on 26 January in Court 1 of the Cayman Islands Courthouses.

The Moot is an annual inter-school competition that sees senior students from across the Cayman Islands competing against each other in a mock-trial setting.

In the final the students took part in a mock injunction case involving fictional company Big Power Limited and a member of its staff who had allegedly leaked important information to a rival firm.

The case was presided over by a tribunal made up of Collas Crill Partners Jennifer Colegate and Matt Dors, and Managing Partner Stephen Leontsinis.

The students presented their arguments and were marked on their court etiquette, persuasiveness, clarity, body language, legal argument and time-keeping. It was a closely fought final with Jack and Jordan just having the edge over the other four students on the day.

Three rounds of Moots had already taken place between the three high schools over October and November and a different fictional legal case was mooted at each round, covering tort, contract and criminal law.

The students, teachers, family, friends and staff from Collas Crill all attended the final and the post-event drinks and prize-giving reception in Court 1.

Jack and Jordan were presented with the Collas Crill Moot Shield which will be on show at CIS, two individual trophies and gift certificates for Camana Bay. Jade-Ann and Sashalee from Clifton Hunter, and Anabella and Ariella from Cayman Prep and High School, also received cups and gift certificates from Collas Crill.

Stephen Leontsinis said: ‘The inaugural Cayman Islands Collas Crill Moot Court competition has been a huge success and it was a privilege to be able to judge the finalists of the competition. All of the finalists impressed me with their professionalism, confidence and clarity of argument. It is clear that they all worked very hard to be in the finals. Congratulations to Jack and Jordan, but also to Jade-Ann, Sashalee, Anabella and Ariella who all did extremely well in the final.             

‘The Moot Court competition would not have been possible without the support of our whole firm. The attorneys and staff at Collas Crill have really leaned into this project and been involved at every stage – from the weekly organisation of the competitive rounds and the provision of support and training to the students, to the time spent judging the competitive rounds and the finals. It has been a real team effort. 

I am also very grateful for the support we have received from the staff and teachers of the high schools and, of course, the Chief Justice and her staff who allowed us the use of the Grand Court facilities in the furtherance of education – we look forward to partnering with them in future Moot competitions.’