The University of Roehampton is proud to congratulate Joel Winter, a final-year LLB student, who has been named the winner of the British and Irish University Commercial Awareness Competition (BIUCAC) 2025.
BIUCAC is the largest commercial awareness competition for non-Russell Group and Irish law students in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This year’s competition attracted almost 2,500 students, providing a highly competitive platform for aspiring lawyers to demonstrate their commercial insight to leading law firms and organisations.
Joel Winter secured first place following a rigorous selection process that tested students’ understanding of the commercial environment in which law firms operate. In order to win the competition overall, Joel took part in four rounds of commercial awareness-based questions and a virtual presentation to two partners on various topics, including AI in the legal profession and equity/debt financing. He also undertook a client pitch about a proposed acquisition and a negotiation on the acquisition of a company, including drafting a heads of terms and a presentation to two partners on the topics of private equity and the US-China trade war/tariffs. In the grand final Joel presented to around 70 people on an acquisition, including the risks and liabilities, and offered advice on how to make the acquisition a success.
As winner of the competition, Joel has been awarded a place on a summer vacation scheme in 2026 at Fieldfisher, a leading international law firm. The prize also includes a lunch and networking session with trainee solicitors and the graduate recruitment team, as well as a personalised CV review, mock interview and assessment centre training with an early careers team.
One of the key aims of BIUCAC is to showcase the exceptional talent and commercial awareness of law students from Non-Russell Group and Irish law schools directly to partners at some of the world’s leading law firms and companies. The competition also seeks to encourage a greater number of students from these institutions to apply to City and commercial law firms.
BIUCAC plays an important role in enhancing student employability, reflecting the growing emphasis law firms place on commercial awareness during assessment centres and partner interviews.
Miceál Barden, Head of Roehampton Law School, commented, “We are really proud of Joel’s achievements in winning this prestigious competition. We are delighted to see our students succeed on such a prominent national stage and continue to demonstrate the strength of the Law School at Roehampton.