The Harvard Law Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Team participates in the annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition, along with over 250 participants from around the world. The competition is a simulation of a dispute between two commercial parties in international arbitration. The competition’s goal is to foster the study of international commercial law and arbitration for resolution of international business disputes through its application to a concrete problem of a client and to train law leaders of tomorrow in methods of alternative dispute resolution.
The 2010-2011 Vis season was Harvard’s strongest year in recent memory, finishing at the international competition in Vienna as the 9th place team worldwide, winning an award for its 3rd place claimant’s brief, and finishing as the top ranked United States law school. In addition, three of Harvard’s four oralists received recognition for their oral advocacy performance.
The Vis team is selected at the beginning of each academic year and competes in two international tournaments in the spring—the Vis Moot in Vienna Austria, and the Vis Moot (East) in Hong Kong, China. In addition, the team attends various pre-moots in the United States leading up to international competition.
This year, the Vis team consists of Jessica Moyer (JD ’12), Ashley Chung (JD ’12), Tarik Elhussein (JD ’13), Michael Jacobson (JD ’13), Michael Springer (JD ’13), Victor Ban (JD ’13), Neil Rao (JD ’13), Jessica Beess und Chrostin (JD ’13), Vivian Ban (JD ’14), and Kylie Chiseul Kim (JD ’14).
The Vis team is coached by James Hosking, a Partner at Chaffetz Lindsey LLP and Giovanna Micheli of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. The team is advised by Virginia Wise, the Harvard Law School Ezra Ripley Thayer Senior Lecturer on Law for Legal Research.
This year’s case is governed by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration (CEITAC) procedural rules and the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) substantive contract law. The case involves a dispute surrounding a contract to deliver a microchip to be used in conference center technology.
This year, the Vienna team received the Best Brief Award for Claimant, Honorable Mention Respondent Brief, and Honorable Mention Oral Argument Awards for Jessica Moyer and Jessica Beess und Chrostin. The team reached the final four teams in competition.
The Hong Kong team received Honorable Mention Claimant brief and Honorable Mention Oral Argument Award for Tarik Elhussein. The team reached the final eight teams in competition.