Author: LAAS x Jessup Team
In an interview with the Advocacy Society blog writer, the LAAS x Jessup team: Graeme Stevens, Esther Eun-Bin Chung, Avani Joshi and Christopher Howard share their insights on their recent mooting experience.
What is the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition?
Derived from: https://www.ilsa.org/about-jessup/
Jessup is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. One team is allowed to participate from every eligible school. Teams prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case.
The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is an advocacy competition for law students. Teams of law students compete against one another through the presentation of oral and written pleadings to address timely issues of public international law in the context of a hypothetical legal dispute between nations. The Compromis is the springboard for the Jessup Competition. Written by leading scholars of international law, the Compromis is a compilation of agreed upon facts about the dispute that is submitted for adjudication to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. After the Compromis is released, students begin researching and preparing arguments for both sides of the dispute, drafting and editing written pleadings, called “memorials,” and practicing oral presentations. Each team prepares two written memorials and two 45-minute oral presentations, one for each party to the dispute (the “Applicant” and the “Respondent”). Teams argue alternately as Applicant and Respondent against competing teams before a panel of judges, simulating a proceeding before the International Court of Justice.
1. What made you want to participate in this moot?
I was first introduced to the Jessup when I participated in the Baby Jessup during my 1L year. It was my first moot, but while preparing and competing I quickly realized that mooting was something that I enjoyed and that I wanted to moot competitively during 2L. When speaking to mentors of mine who mooted while they were in law school, hearing their experience with the Jessup always stuck out. Those who had competed in the Jessup consistently referred to it as the peak of their law school journey, and those who had not referred to it as the most rigorous and time-intensive moot.
Speaking to last year’s team confirmed my decision to participate, and I can confidently say everyone was right.
–Christopher Howard, 2L
2. What was the most challenging aspect of preparing for the moot?
Researching and applying case law to support our arguments was the most challenging aspect of preparing for the moot, because cases/judgements in international law do not set any binding precedents that apply to all states. Working with cases and decisions that were only persuasive and non-binding made it more challenging to formulate our arguments and justify them.
Nevertheless, interacting with the various judgements, advisory opinions, dissents, and interpretations by scholars was fun because it engaged the team in conversations rooted in the law and principles that are relevant to historical and current state interaction.
We definitely faced a steep (but very rewarding) learning curve during the five months that we bounced ideas off each other and poked many, many holes in each other’s arguments, but it ultimately gave us the ability to grasp this complex area of law.
–Esther Eun-Bin Chung, 2L
3. How did your team approach developing your arguments and strategy for the moot?
Our team began with a lengthy research period in the fall semester.
We started by reading the problem numerous times and creating a timeline of the facts.
Our team then read the Jessup basic materials provided to us by the moot organizers and researched the issues. As we deepened our understanding of the issues, we would discuss them with the other team members to flesh out our arguments. Over the holiday break, we wrote our memorials (which was a ton of work). We began meeting with our amazing coaches in January and built our oral arguments. We practiced twice weekly, and our arguments were continuously refined and recreated.
-Graeme Stevens, 2L
4. Can you share any memorable moments or highlights from the moot competition?
With the Jessup consuming the past five months of our lives, there are so many memorable moments (too many to list all of them). Back in September, after reading the 2024 Jessup problem for the first time, the team scheduled a meeting to discuss our first thoughts. During this meeting, the four of us started throwing out ideas on which issues we thought were stronger for applicants or respondents, what case law would apply, the international principles at play and our first thoughts on the story and the characters within. This meeting was one of the highlights of the competition because in that moment, I knew it was the start of the amazing five months that were on the horizon.
Another memorable moment during this competition was the day we submitted our memorials. The team was so frantic preparing the citations, finalizing the submission, parsing the document for the authorized abbreviations, analyzing each sentence to abide by the word count, all while the 5:00 PM deadline was looming. The emotional roller coaster leading up to submission and the moment we got confirmation that both applicants and respondents memorials were submitted was a feeling I cannot describe. Months of research and preparation, drafting and re-drafting, tears and sweat went into the memorials, and then they were finally sent off for judging.
The highlight of the competition that I would like to share is the moment the team won an award for our submissions and afterwards when we went to celebrate. All the hard work had paid off. It was euphoric.
-Avani Joshi, 2L
5. Were there any unexpected challenges or curveballs during the moot, and how did you adapt?
No amount of preparation can stop challenges or curveballs from arising during a moot. That’s what distinguishes a moot from a speech competition.
Nobody can predict things like a judge asking you to reconcile the finding of an obscure case you weren’t aware of or a competitor making an argument you never heard before (both of which happened to me this year). Luckily, that also happens a lot in practice. Our coaches Mannu, Kartiga, and Dan worked really hard with us to develop and practice strategies for these exact moments. In those situations, I did what I practiced. I addressed the argument or question directly, identified negative legal or policy considerations associated with the premise, and compared them to those present in the outcome I proposed as being just.
–Christopher Howard, 2L
6. What do you believe were the strengths of your team’s presentation during the moot?
The strengths of our team’s presentation during the moot showed in many ways. We were able to complement each other with our different styles of advocacy, demonstrate our knowledge of the law by being conversational in answering the judges’ questions, and hold our own during even the most difficult panels.
Every single member of our team was complimented on tone, pace, poise, and professionalism while presenting our arguments. I will never forget the feedback we received from a judge during the first round, who said it was so clear that my partner and I were coached by the same coaches.
From the start, we knew we had successfully demonstrated that we worked together as a team and our submissions were received as one whole, fluid submission, even with our varying mooting styles.
The flexibility that each member exhibited in answering questions that we had not encountered during our many practice rounds also spoke volumes on our comfortability with the law, and adaptability to high pressure situations. Our team was able to become immersed in each other’s arguments which allowed us to moot our respective positions with confidence.
–Esther Eun-Bin Chung, 2L
7. Looking back, is there anything your team would have done differently in preparing for or participating in the moot?
The one thing we could have done differently would have been to focus more on memorizing our submissions. I noticed that the teams which made it to the finals had their submissions completely memorized. Maintaining eye contact with the judges is extremely important. Also, flagging that you understand the judge’s concern when answering questions, and directing them to specific paragraph numbers are other skills we could have improved at. We could have also enhanced the quality of our legal research in the early stages of our preparation in the fall.
Beginning research when you receive the moot problem is critical to building a high-quality memorial.
-Graeme Stevens, 2L
8. What advice would you give to students who are interested in this moot, or mooting in general?
For those interested in this moot: take the leap. The Jessup is unlike anything you will ever do. The Jessup encompasses one of the most dense and complex areas of law. You will be thrown in the deep waters of international law to make sense of concepts like state sovereignty, state responsibility, international humanitarian law and human rights. For most law students, this may be the only time you are able to make arguments on such broad macro level issues. While it will take up a lot of your time and require a level of dedication you couldn’t possibly anticipate, the lessons learned, relationships cultivated, and skills developed through this moot is something I will always cherish. I strongly suggest taking on this challenging and rewarding moot. It’s worth it.
For those interested in mooting in general: I highly, highly recommend participating in at least one moot during your law school career.
Whether you want to litigate or not, mooting helps you develop skills in research, writing, and advocacy. Mooting teaches you how to structure arguments, how to convey a point, how to research a specific area of law, and how to write in a clear and concise manner. I have to admit, I am biased towards the Jessup but to all those thinking about mooting, my advice is: just do it, it can’t hurt.
-Avani Joshi, 2L
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