Sponsored by Freehills

The 2011 Freehills Client Interview Competition is a team event which provides students with the opportunity to achieve practical skills which are of great value to many professions, not just legal practitioners. The art of building rapport with clients by achieving rapid engagement and active listening cannot be underestimated, and Client Interview in particular is one competition which has no parallel within the Law School’s formal curriculum.

The 2011 Freehills Client Interview Competition is a simulated conference in which teams of two lawyers interview a client for the first time. The focus of the competition is the identification of the nature of the client’s problem, investigation of relevant background and the suggestion of an appropriate structured solution. Given these objectives, no knowledge of the substantive law is necessary, and only limited pre-interview preparation is required. The problems consist of a short memorandum, such as a law office secretary might give to interviewing practitioners when a client has called to make an appointment. The competition aims to provide students with an opportunity to develop their client interview technique and enhance their skills of perception and communication, proficiencies which are essential in day-to-day legal practice.

The Coordinator of the 2011 Freehills Client Interview Competition is Joseph Di Rocco. Please direct all enquiries to the Competitions VP, Kirsten Young, at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Sign up at the ‘How  To’  Session on Wednesday 2 March 2011 at 1 pm in the Moot Court!

Competition Dates

Round 1: Wednesday 9^th, Thursday 10^th, Wednesday 16^th, & Thursday 17^th March 2011

Round 2: Wednesday 6^th & Thursday 7^th April 2011

Quarter-Final: Wednesday 4^th May 2011

Semi-Final: Wednesday 11^th May 2011

Grand-Final: Monday 16^th May 2011

Competition Materials

• Information for Competitors
• Rules
• Assessment Sheet
• Client Interview Guide
• Sample Client Interview Problem