Vancouver. Hamish Stewart and Matthew Kalkman, two students at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Law, are putting the finishing touches on their written legal arguments for the world’s first ever Twitter Moot, scheduled for 21st February at 10am PST. The Twitter Moot, a project of West Coast Environmental Law, is essentially a mock-court appeal argued over the popular social media platform, Twitter.
“This is a great opportunity for legal professionals to explore how the law can engage with new technology.” said Stewart, explaining why he had chosen to participate in this unique event. “In particular, this is a great opportunity to explore important issues in environmental law and to ensure that environmental law continues to lead the profession on social media.”
Kalkman sees his participation as a way to highlight his support for West Coast Environmental Law and its work.
“I believe that this is not only a chance to make legal and social media history, but is also a positive idea that can help increase awareness of environmental issues and the great work of West Coast Environmental Law using social media,” said Kalkman.
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. Stewart and Kalkman are representing the Province of Alberta, an intervener in the appeal, and will be arguing that the West Moberly First Nation’s Treaty right to hunt should not extend to protecting a particular herd of caribou.
The UBC Team is sponsored by the law firm of Miller Thomson. Stewart and Kalkman will be competing against teams from the Universities of Victoria, Ottawa, York and Dalhousie.
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For more information contact:
Andrew Gage, Twitter Moot Administrator and Staff Lawyer, at 250-412-9784.
Hamish Stewart, Twitter Moot Participant, at 778-990-3796.
Matthew Kalkman, Twitter Moot Participant, at 778 318 6430.
For more information about the Twitter Moot see www.wcel.org/twtmoot. For more information about Team UBC see http://wcel.org/team-UBC. The hashtag for the Twitter Moot event is #twtmoot.