You are invited to attend the Grand Final and Conversazione of the Herbert Smith Freehills Oxford Disability Mooting Championship, which will take place from 3pm on Saturday 5th November 2016, at the historic University Church of St Mary. This prestigious moot court competition has been established by Wadham Students and the Oxford Law Faculty to promote the intellectual study of disability and its intersection with domestic and international law. To celebrate the beginning of Disability History Month UK, the Grand Final will be followed by a conversazione at 5pm. This panel discussion is on the theme ‘Disabled people and employment: rights protection, career progression and fulfilling potential’. Free afternoon tea and cakes are included in the break.

The Grand Final: Watch skilled law students go head to head in this mock court case to debate a legal problem about issues affecting persons with a disability. The talented finalists will showcase the challenges faced by academics and legal practitioners who work in this field. The Grand Final will be judged by Dame Elish Angiolini, former Lord Advocate of Scotland and current Principal of St Hugh’s College; Professor Anne Davies, Dean of the Faculty of Law; Mr John Bowers QC, Principal of Brasenose college; and Mr Ian Gatt QC, Head of the Advocacy Group at Herbert Smith Freehills. Audience members will have the opportunity to hear the reasoning of these senior judges and witness their interactions with contestants.

The Conversazione: Panellists will include Schona Jolly, leading education and employment discrimination barrister; Kate Nash OBE, world renowned guru in disability business inclusion; John Simpson, former National Autism Partnership Board Member and author of the Autism Charter; and Amar Latif, award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Traveleyes. In celebration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ ten-year anniversary, these panellists are invited to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by people with disabilities in the UK in the business and employment environment.