Halifax. Michele Charles and Kristen Balcom, two students at the University of Dalhousie’s Schulich Law School, are hard at work preparing for the world’s first ever Twitter Moot, scheduled for 21st February at 2pm AST. The Twitter Moot, a project of West Coast Environmental Law, is essentially a mock-court appeal argued over the popular social media platform, Twitter.
“Environmental law is an area of law that I hope to practice in.” said Charles, explaining why she had chosen to participate in this unique event. “The experience of having to condense one's argument into concise tweets is a great exercise for learning to focus one's thoughts and to only put forward what is most important in a legal argument.”
Balcom was also attracted by the focus on environmental law, and the novel use of Twitter.
"I was fortunate to take an environmental law course last term.” said Kristen. “I was intrigued by the concept of using social media in the legal arena. Although I am a Twitter novice, I am working to master the art of tweeting before the Moot."
The appeal being argued, West Moberly First Nations v. British Columbia, raises issues related to the survival of an endangered caribou herd threatened by coal mining and ongoing industrial development. Charles and Balcom are representing the First Coal Corporation in the appeal.
The Dalhousie Team is sponsored by the law firm of Iler Campbell LLP. Teams are also participating from the Universities of Victoria, British Columbia, Ottawa and York.
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For more information contact:
Andrew Gage, Twitter Moot Administrator and Staff Lawyer, at 250-412-9784.
Michele Charles, Twitter Moot Participant, at 902-229-1458.
Kristen Balcom, Twitter Moot Participant, at 902-440-2923.
For more information about the Twitter Moot: www.wcel.org/twtmoot.