Willem C. Vis Moot Court
The annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious international moot court competitions. Each year, students from approximately 300 law schools from more than 65 countries compete by preparing written memoranda and participating in oral arguments held in March and April in Vienna, Austria.
The Vis Moot is based on a fictitious commercial dispute between two parties in an international arbitration. The goal of the competition is to foster the study of international commercial law and arbitration for the resolution of international business disputes and to train law leaders of tomorrow in methods of alternative dispute resolution.
The Vis Moot competition is open to second-year, third-year and LLM students not already licensed to practice law. There are no course pre-requisites. However, a background or interest in international commercial law or international arbitration is desirable. It is recommended that Vis team members not compete in other moots due to the significant time commitments that are required.
This year will be the 31st year of the Vis Moot competition. The opening ceremony will take place in Vienna on March 22, 2024 and the oral arguments is from March 23-28, 2024.
The team is responsible for writing two briefs, one for the claimant and one for the respondent. The due date for the first brief is on December 7, 2023. The due date for the second brief is on January 18, 2024. After the briefs are submitted, the team prepares intensively for the oral argument phase of the competition. Team members take part in an extensive practice schedule that include, among other things, internal and external practice rounds and participation in a number of pre-moot competitions.
The Vis Team is selected in September in advance of the release of the problem during the first week in October.
For more information about the Northwestern Law Vis Moot team, contact James Coleman - team co-coach, Travis Gonyou - team co-coach, or Adi Altshuler - team advisor.
Spring 2024 Vis Moot Information Session Slides (pdf)
Team Members
2023-2024: Katherine Hsu, Eric Lu, Iris Tang2022-2023: Viola Bosisio, Nia Crosley, Abhishek Dalal, James Fingeroot, Chuxin Qin, Jieman Tan, Yuqi Yao, Hermione Zhang, Xiaoqing Zhang
2021-2022: Molly Brambil, Elaine Cleary, Rebecca Jin, Jiahui Li, Landon Oakes, Cayne Randle, Andreas Rauch, Jenny (Bi-Jen) Wung, Xiaorui Yang
2020-2021: HanByul Chang, Ivey Eugene, Yunah Ko, Rebecca Jin, Lucy (Yunyi) Li, Jordan Martin, Ebenezer Ng, Yuman Xu
2019-2020: Baoying Cheng, Julia (Hyun Young) Lee*, Jueqiu Li, Zhi Liu, Xinyi Wang*, Helen (Muhan) Zhang*, Shuhan Zhang*, Junwei Zheng
2018-2019: Lorena Maria Lantigua Gonzalez, Jiayue Wang (Arcee), Joseph Lubben, Travis Gonyou, Mingyuan (Simon) Song, Yoon Hoo Lee
2017-2018: Zihan Chen, Jae Hyung Park
2015-2016: Anisah Giansiracusa, Farzeen Tariq, Haley Wasserman, James Thomas Coleman, Santiago Enrique Rodriguez Senior, Xiaoyan Xiang, Yuxiang Zhang
2014-2015: Reyhan Bilici, Megan Needham, Ming Russell, Noeli Serna
2013-2014: In Cho, Leonard Kim, JungEun Nicole Lee, Tianyu Ma
2012-2013: Mi Chen, JungEun Nicole Lee, Victoria Lee, Kari Parks, Margaret Siller
2011-2012: Soeun Nikole Lee, Parminder Sawhney, Matthew Schultze
2010-2011: Brendan Casey, Emma Jones, Valerie Petein, Daniel Stern
2006-2007: George Huang, Ke Huang, Jen Kim, Jun Liu
2005-2006: Elizabeth Heurtematte, Jen Kim, Jeff Kogan, Sarah Scopel, Elizabeth Warnick
2004-2005: Joris Beckers, Veronica Li, Friedrich Nell, Brian Parker, Shivani Prabhakar, Tiffani Tatum, Elizabeth Warnick
2003-2004: Veronica Li, Danielle Mathey, Brian Parker, Tiffani Tatum
2002-2003: Ashley Baynham, Aengus Carr, Lisa Linney
*Team members traveling to Vienna
Events
- October 6, 2023: Distribution of the Problem
- December 7, 2023: Memorandum for Claimant due
- January 18, 2024: Memorandum for Respondent due
- March 23-28, 2024: Vis Moot Competition (oral arguments) in Vienna, Austria
News
02/11/2016 Vis Moot Team Places Third at Panamerican University Guadalajara International Arbitration Pre-moot
02/17/2015 Vis Team Wins Loyola Pre-Moot, Earns Best Speaker Honor
04/25/2014 Vis Moot Team Earns Honors in Vienna
02/18/2013 Vis Team Wins Loyola Pre-Moot, Earns Best Speaker Honor
04/18/2012 Northwestern Law Vis Moot Team Excels in Vienna
03/07/2012 Vis Moot Team Member Wins Best Speaker Award