Leah Warren and Victoria Carvalho of St Ignatius Catholic School have won the Cayman Collas Crill Moot 2025/26.
They faced Olivia Cain and Gracie McMann of CF School in the closely-fought final, in a fictitious defamation case.
This is the second time the school has triumphed in the Moot, having won back in 2023.
The final took place on 28 January at the Grand Court in George Town and was judged by the Honourable Justice David Doyle, Judge of the Grand Court. He was joined on the judging panel by Collas Crill Partner, Andrew Peedom, and Counsel, Annalisa Shibli.
It is the fourth time the Moot has run in Cayman, with more than 50 students taking part in this year's competition from six high schools: Cayman Prep, CF School, Cayman International School (CIS), Clifton Hunter, John Gray and St. Ignatius.
As in the previous three rounds, the finalists were marked on a number of factors including their court etiquette, persuasiveness, clarity, body language and time-keeping.
The Grand Court was full with Moot students, teachers, family, friends and Collas Crill staff for the final itself and the post-event reception.
Winners Leah and Victoria were presented with the coveted Collas Crill Moot Shield, which will be on show at St Ignatius.
All finalists were presented with a trophy and certificates from Collas Crill. A number of additional awards were also handed out to acknowledge stand-out performances of teams and individuals throughout the competition.
Cayman Managing Partner Gina Berry said: 'I know that everyone gathered in the Grand Court yesterday will agree that both teams gave a thoroughly impressive performance. It was clear how much work and preparation they had all put in. Congratulations to Leah and Victoria who the judging panel decided just had the edge. A huge well done to Olivia and Gracie who should also be incredibly proud of themselves.
'The Moot is an initiative that gives students a real-life taste of what a career in law could look and feel like. We make sure that we give them the full experience from start to finish. Staging the final in the Grand Court adds a real sense of gravitas to proceedings and I would like to thank Justice Doyle and his staff who, once again, allowed us the use of the Grand Court facilities.
'The Moot is something we feel very passionately about as a firm. Over the last four years we have developed a great working relationship with the six high schools and along with our other initiatives, like our internship and scholarship programmes, we are proud to be helping to identify and support the future generation of Cayman lawyers.
'Of course an initiative like the Moot doesn’t simply happen without the support, time and energy of my fellow attorneys and staff at Collas Crill. The team is involved at every stage of the months-long competition - 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 is a real team effort and I thank them for their commitment.'
Collas Crill would also like to thank the following people:
- Chief Justice, The Honourable Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale, for Her Ladyship’s ongoing and unhesitating support for the Moot.
- Honourable Justice David Doyle for His Lordship’s participation in, and clear enthusiasm for, the Moot.
- The Clerk of Court, Ms. Shiona Allenger, who ensures that all arrangements are in place.
What is the Collas Crill Moot?
- The Moot is an annual inter-school competition that sees senior students from across Cayman competing against each other in a mock-trial setting.
- Students study real-life legal case notes and apply them to a mock court situation. There are three rounds of the Moot which take place at the high schools.
- Students are presented with a different fictional legal case to argue in each round, covering tort, contract and criminal law.
- Participants are mentored and coached by Collas Crill attorneys throughout the competition and judged by some of the firm's partners and lawyers during the mock trials.
- Previous Cayman winners:
2024/25 - John Gray (Asonya Sweeney and Nia-Sha Wedderburn)
2023 - St. Ignatius (Leanna Allen and Soleya Manzanares)
2022 - CIS (Jack Coleman and Jordan Lisle)
- The Collas Crill Moot has been running in Guernsey for 18 years and for two years in Jersey.
