Our Associate Ella Hiltunen in the Winning Team in the First-Ever Young Lawyer Contest

Our Associate Ella Hiltunen was a member of the winning team of the very first Young Lawyers Contest organised by the Academy of European Law (ERA) and the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) in Trier, Germany, on 6–7 September 2018. The competition consisted of three rounds: submitting a written report in the field of EU company law and an oral defence session on the report, an M&A negotiation exercise, as well as an oral debate in the style of a moot court pleading. You can read about Ella’s experiences of the contest below.

What were the most valuable experiences you gained from the contest?
I think the competition was a great opportunity to meet young legal professionals from around Europe and discuss experiences of our legal cultures. In the contest, this exchange was effective since the teams consisted of members from different countries – my team members were Mr Vincent Berthier from France and Ms Livia Dianu-Buja from Romania. In my opinion, it is important from the point of view of my daily work at Hannes Snellman to learn to understand how lawyers and legal systems in different countries work because almost all our client projects include communication with lawyers from different parts of the world.

In addition, it was highly useful for my further development as a lawyer to learn where I stand among other young European lawyers – what my strengths are and what skills I should focus on improving.

What got you interested in the contest?
During my studies, I participated in the National Moot Court Competition of ELSA Finland, which was a great experience. After that, I also wanted to participate in an international competition to learn to know legal professionals from abroad. Therefore, when I heard about this contest, I immediately decided to apply to the team.

What are your best tips for someone who is thinking of participating in the contest?
I think that the most important thing is to ensure that the cooperation between the team members works smoothly. We did this by establishing a WhatsApp group where we could instantly share our thoughts whenever they arose. In addition, we clearly divided the work from the start, so everyone knew what they were doing, which was important because we were not able to meet up in person before the oral rounds in Trier.

Furthermore, in the oral rounds, it is important to trust yourself and prepare to present yourself confidently because the oral rounds focus on the persuasiveness of argumentation.

I would warmly recommend the contest to newly graduated lawyers, and I am happy to share my experiences with those interested in participating during the coming years!

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