INTERNSHIPS, MOOTS & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Phillip C.Jessup Moot Court Competition
The Phillip C Jessup Moot Court Competition is organized annually by the International Law Students Association. Named after a former President of the International Court of Justice, the competition has attained immense popularity over its 47-year run, from the time it was first held in 1960.
The current figures for participation are striking: more than a 100 teams from more than 50 countries compete in the Final Round. And this is not all: according to the rules, each country can only enter one or two teams (except America which can enter 12), therefore to reach the Final Round, teams first have to go through a fairly grueling national selection process.
The Jessup moot problem is always based on timely and controversial issues of international law. In 2006-07 the issues covered were: conditions for membership to regional trade organizations, and rights of indigenous peoples; in 2008 the focus will be on the tension between ensuring human rights and responding to acts of terrorism.
The final round, sponsored mainly by Shearman and Sterling LLP, is held at the Fairmont Hotel, Washington DC, in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law.
Jessup Facts
Focus area: Public international law
Organizers: International Law Students Association
Offical webpage: http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/index.shtml
Format: national (or sub-national) qualifying rounds, followed by an international round. Teams argue before a mock International Court of Justice. In the international round, after four preliminary pairings, 24 teams advance to the knockout stage. The 8 teams with the highest scores go into the Octa-finals, the rest compete the run-off rounds. The eight winners from the run-off round are then paired off against the Octa-finalists, for a place in the Quarter-finals.
Registration: Usually late October / early November
Submission of briefs: mid-January
New York Qualifying Round: mid-February / early March
Final Round: late March/early April
Prizes: Shearman and Sterling Jessup Cup (winners); Hardy C Dillard award, Alona E. Evans award, Richard Baxter award: Best memorials; Spirit of the Jessup Award: Team that best exemplifies the Jessup spirit of camaraderie, academic excellence, competitiveness, and appreciation of fellow competitors.
Other information: Basic materials (treaties, cases etc) are distributed to all participating teams soon after registration.
Selection at NYU
The Jessup team is selected by the Moot Court Board. For further information see here.
NYU team for the 2006-07 competition
Vilas Dhar will receive his JD in May, 2007. Before coming to NYU School of Law, Vilas attended the University of Illinois, where he received degrees in Biological Engineering and Computer Science as a Chancellor's Scholar. He has a strong interest in International Law and has been recognized for his advocacy efforts at a number of competitions and academic events. His research interests include human rights and the "democratization of technology."
Rachael McCracken is a third year law student from Montana. She graduated from Amherst with degrees in International Relations; Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought; and Spanish in 2004. Last year, Rachael wrote the moot court problem used in NYU's Marden Competition, and was honored as the NYU Moot Court Board's most accomplished second year student.
Jim Medek is a third year law student from Minnesota. He graduated from Purdue with a degree in Computer Engineering in 2004. Last year, Jim was on the team that won both the tournament and best brief award at the Weidner University Corporate Moot Court Competition.
Will Newman is a third year law student from New York. He graduated from Brown University in 2004. Last year, Will was on the team that won the Tulane Sports Law Moot Court Competition, and was honored as the tournament's best speaker.
Performance
The Jessup team recieved the highest oratory honors at the Atlantic Regional Competiton. The team completed four rounds of competition against 15 teams from around the country in what organizers billed “the most competitive regional in the nation” to advance to the semifinals, seeded number two, where they faced the reigning world champion. The team also swept the oral advocacy awards, with James Medek receiving Eight Place Oralist, Will Newman winning Third Place Oralist, Rachael McCracken receiving Second Place Oralist, and Vilas Dhar winning Best Oralist for the competition.
The team was also recognized for its high level of camaraderie and team spirit, and was complimented for their enthusiastic and friendly presence at the competition.
