UChicago Moot Court expanded to international law competitions for the first time during the 2023–24 season, achieving a new level of success as oral advocacy champions at the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition, finalists at the Sports Law Arbitration Moot, and quarterfinalists at the International Bar Association International Criminal Court Moot.
Moot Court is a debate-style activity intended to simulate court case hearings, in which participants review decisions previously made in jury or bench trials.
UChicago Moot Court began sending students to international competitions last season so that they would have the opportunity to experience different areas of law and tournament formats and to compete against teams from various schools. Since its founding in 2013, UChicago Moot Court has enjoyed 16 tournament wins and received 123 orator and 22 brief writing awards.
The fast-growing team consists of 75 members who assume the roles of petitioner—the party who starts the case—and respondent—the party who replies to the case. The team is further divided into oral advocacy and brief writing. Oral advocacy rounds consist of the petitioner and respondent highlighting and arguing the key components of a case in front of a panel of judges, while brief writing requires preparing a 20-page brief outlining written arguments on behalf of the petitioner or respondent.
Over the past year, the RSO has sent competitors to countries including Canada, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Last school year, now third-year Pranav Padmanabhan competed in brief writing in Lausanne, Switzerland at the Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM) against competitors from 36 other universities from across the world. The competition focused on international sports law and sports arbitration, which resolves sports-related disputes such as anti-doping rule violations.
After participating in Spring Scrimmage, a tournament exclusive to UChicago students, competing in “the actual place where the cases [I] was citing were decided” felt “surreal,” according to Padmanabhan.
Padmanabhan also noted a unique feature of SLAM: its hybrid competition format. Earlier stages of the competition were purely virtual before transitioning to be in person. To prepare for the tournament, Padmanabhan said the team “read past cases heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport relating to the case at hand, consulted the rules of different sports federations, and watched videos of past competitions.”
Padmanabhan added that his team began preparing as early as the previous summer. “Foresight [of the competition topic] is really necessary to succeed in Moot Court because it’s a lot of preparation,” Padmanabhan said. “Preparation is what helps you win these tournaments.”
Of the four UChicago students who attended SLAM, fourth-years Vikram Ramaswamy, the current co-president of the RSO, and Cherie Fernandes were finalists, while third-years Zachary Harrison and Padmanabhan were quarterfinalists.
Another unique feature of the regional and international circuits is that they allow open competition between undergraduate and graduate students, meaning that UChicago Moot Court has regularly competed against law school students who benefit from readily available mentorship.
The RSO, conversely, is completely student-run with student coaches participating in tournaments too. Third-year and oral advocacy student coach Inanna Khansa has transitioned to an advisory role in addition to competing this year. Khansa runs oral advocacy practices and works with Moot Court’s executive board to lay the groundwork for a successful season by emphasizing skills like public speaking and writing mechanics. She said that her experience competing helped her be a better coach for other students.
“I have experience on what types of resources to look at and how to most effectively prepare, which really informed my coaching style,” Khansa said.
Ramaswamy added that the team hopes to build upon its high placements in international competitions over the past year by identifying future tournaments that fit the goals and identity of the club. They are preparing for upcoming tournaments including the Claude Pepper Elder Law Moot Court Competition (an employment law competition held in Florida), and the Fletcher International Insolvency Law Moot, which revolves around international bankruptcy.
For Ramaswamy, the UChicago Moot Court’s continued participation and success in competitions is not only a significant personal achievement but also key in building foundational pre-law skills.
“These competitions provide critical skills necessary to become a lawyer or litigatory,” Ramaswamy said.
G.C. / Oct 23, 2024 at 5:29 pm
Go Moot Court! Congrats all. Well-deserved.