Angela Wiggins, Giovanna Di Sauro, Melissa McKay, Jessica Liu, Professor Kevin Banks, Swarna Perinparajah and Chanelle Wong after the final round of the competition in the Ontario Labour Relations Board Building in Toronto on January 26.
Angela Wiggins, Giovanna Di Sauro, Melissa McKay, Jessica Liu, Professor Kevin Banks, Swarna Perinparajah and Chanelle Wong after the final round of the competition in the Ontario Labour Relations Board Building in Toronto on January 26.

Queen’s Law won second place in the annual Mathews Dinsdale & Clark Canadian Labour Arbitration Moot, which took place January 24-26 in Toronto. Oralists Jessica Liu and Angela Wiggins, both Law ’15, led the team to a strong finish in the finals. The team was coached by Professor Kevin Banks, with effective backing from researcher Swarna Perinparajah, Law ’15, and student coaches Giovanna DiSauro, Melissa McKay and Chanelle Wong, all Law ’14. 

This well-known labour law moot attracts students from across Canada. The teams argue both sides of a grievance brought under a collective agreement, and they are evaluated by seasoned arbitrators and labour law practitioners. This year the problem involved a discrimination claim launched by two nurses against their hospital-employer. The issue was whether the hospital had discriminated against the nurses on the basis of their family status by changing their shift scheduling in a way that prevented them from fulfilling their family obligations. 

Eight teams competed. “It was a real pleasure to coach such dedicated, hard-working students,” says Banks. “The team put together a theory of the case that one judge described as a ‘big gamble that really paid off.’”

Mooting is well established and nurtured at Queen’s Law as a great learning experience for students who want to understand more about oral advocacy. When asked for her views of the Toronto event, oralist Jessica Liu said, “One of the highlights for me was the huge adrenaline rush you get when you’re actually mooting and meeting the amazing panelists who are serving as judges. No matter how good our classroom experience may be, it just can‘t compare with being able to advocate in a competitive setting.”

Successful mooters often have a strong network of people who offer the support and expertise the team needs to excel in the competition. The volunteers who earned the thanks of this year’s team for helping them succeed were Kingston alumni Don Carter, Law ’66 (Professor Emeritus), Carol Mackillop, Law ’94, of Mackillop Law Offices, Alan Whyte, Law ’79, of Cunningham Swan, and Colin Youngman, Law ’05, of Hicks Morley. 

Jessica has some advice for future mooters: “This Mathews Dinsdale & Clarke moot is a really great experience if you’re interested in labour law or even if you’re not sure. It is wonderful exposure to the practice area and points you towards becoming an expert afterwards. If labour law is something you’re even remotely interested in, I would really recommend this moot.”