Amici curiae: RCHK Law Society making moots a hoot
By Ray Liu
On the 16th of May, twenty seven students across Years 9 to 12 attended the first session of the RCHK Law Society, a nascent club that aims to develop understanding of law both as a discipline and as an institution among the RCHK community.
The Law Society was the brainchild of four Year 12 students who realised that there was no support network or organisation for RCHK students who were interested in pursuing law, or who were merely curious about its operations. Given the size and popularity of related clubs such as debate or MUN, they reasoned that there had to be an audience for a law-related club.
And thus, after much delay and some rudely timed trial exams, the RCHK Law Society officially came into being.
Melanie Yeung, one of the four leaders, gave a brief overview of the Society's goals: “We obviously hope to introduce basic legal concepts and further interest in law within the RCHK community, but that’s not the entirety of our ethos.” Yeung continues. “We hope to be a holistic club that offers support and opportunities for collaboration among like-minded students— whether that be talks with alumni studying LLB, getting help with strengthening university applications, or even just enrollment in debate and mock trial [tournaments] to further the public speaking skills of members.” In short, the club hopes to develop and support any law-related activities that can be pursued at a high school level.
According to Cheryl Wong, another one of the founders, the Society mainly operates by weekly sessions, where they go over the finer points of mock trial and mooting procedures. Discussion of basic legal principles and history also form an integral part of the sessions, which generally last anywhere from forty five minutes to an hour. “We hope everyone walks away from each of our sessions having learned something new about how the law operates and is interpreted,” says Wong.
Though still green as summer grass, the Society has already seen some pretty impressive results. From April 16 to 18, four members of the Society (King Kan from Y9, Karmen Tsai from Y10, Minhee Ho from Y11 and Dor Dor Zhao from Y12) participated in the Hong Kong Schools Mooting and Mock Trial Association’s Easter Mock Trial Challenge in collaboration with the Diocesan Boys School Mock Trial Team. Despite none of them having any prior Mock Trial experience, Minhee and Dor Dor received the accolade of Best Advocate, while King and Karmen were awarded second place overall. All agreed that it was an immensely valuable learning experience and provided eye-opening exposure to how the legal system operates.
Though the RCHK Law Society is still finding its footing, the leaders are pretty optimistic about the club's future. “We have quite a lot planned for summer and the two months back from school next term,” Melanie Yeung remarked. “From alumni sharings to the new season of the Hong Kong Schools Mooting and Mock Trial Competition in September, we’ll have plenty to keep us busy!” Yinwa Yung expressed similar sentiments: “We’re only just getting started— there’s so much more to come!”
