Willem C. Vis Moot Court

The annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition is a unique professional and cultural experience and an essential training tool for law students wishing to pursue a career in international commercial law. The Vis Moot is designed to test the teams' skills in drafting memoranda and oral advocacy and takes place during Easter week in Vienna, Austria, where students act as counsel in a fictitious commercial dispute between parties from different countries. More than 300 renowned practitioners and law professors from around the world participate in judging the competition.

The Vis Moot is organized by the Pace University School of Law and sponsored by the American Arbitration Association, the International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association, Court of International Commercial Arbitration, Romania, German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), the International Chamber of Commerce, JAMS, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Moot Alumni Association, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), Swiss Chambers' Arbitration, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, and the University of Vienna Faculty of Law

Northwestern Law first began competing in the Vis Moot in 2003. Under the supervision of Professor Stephen Smith, Northwestern's teams have done remarkably well in such a short period. In their first year of competition, they placed 54th out of 120 teams worldwide. The following year, the Law School placed 55th out of 130 competing teams. The best showing was in 2005 when Northwestern made the top one third out of more than 150 universities, and team member Brian Parker (JD '05) received an Honorable Mention as Best Oralist out of hundreds of individual participants.

For more information, visit the Vis Web site.

Joining the Team

The Vis Moot competition is open to second- and third-year law students who are interested in international arbitration and who have successfully completed or are enrolled in International Arbitration and International Sales.

The team is supervised by Professor Stephen Smith, with assistance from various students, and requires a year-long commitment from all participants. Extensive time is spent drafting both the Memoranda for the Claimant and the Memoranda for the Respondent. In addition, team members will participate in extensive practice rounds during which they will hone their oral advocacy skills in preparation for the worldwide competition in Vienna in April.

At the Vis Moot, all members will have the chance to argue for both the Claimant and the Respondent. Should the team advance to the final rounds, the two best advocates will speak. It is recommended that Vis team members not compete in other moots due to the tremendous time commitments.

Students who participate in the Vis Moot will receive three credits for a Directive Reading and Research course. Credits are approved at the discretion of the supervisor.

For more information about joining the Northwestern Law team, contact Professor Stephen Smith at (312) 503-4792 or e-mail.

Additional Resources

United Nations Commission for International Trade Law

American Arbitration Association

ICC International Court of Arbitration

ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Commercial Arbitration