Vis Moot
Joining the Team
Eligibility
Participation in this Moot is open to day students who have completed at least one year of law school and evening students who have completed at least two years of law school. Applicants must also have above average grades. Students may participate on the Vis Moot Team and also be on one of the law journals (Many have done both in past years), but, due to the time commitment and the difficulty in scheduling practices and meetings, students may not be on the Vis Team and on any other moot court team, trial advocacy team, nor participate in the Scott Moot Court competition during the same academic year.
Selection
Interested students should submit a current resume with a cover letter describing any moot court, debate, public speaking or other relevant experience they have and why they would like to be a member of the Vis Arbitration Moot Team. The letter should mention whether the student has taken courses in international sales law and/or international commercial arbitration. They should also submit a current writing sample demonstrating persuasive analytical ability. (Submission of an application will be deemed to be consent to obtain a copy of the applicant's Loyola transcript.)
Each application will be evaluated by the coaches and 10-15 applicants will be invited for a personal interview and audition. The audition will involve a 5-10 minute argument relating to one or more of the issues involved in the prior year's Vis competition. Selection will be based on academic performance, relevant experience, an assessment of the applicant's potential to present an argument to a group of multinational arbitrators and the applicant's commitment to the program and the work involved. Preference will be given to well-qualified 3rd-year day and 4th-year evening students.
Four students will be selected for the Vis team that will compete in Vienna in April 2009 and additional students will be selected to compete in Hong Kong in March 2009. In the application, applicants should indicate whether they are interested only in the Vienna competition; only interested in the Hong Kong competition; have a strong preference for one or the other; or are equally interested in both.
Applications should be sent to:
Mell Bañez
Loyola Law School Los Angeles
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Fax: 213-380-3769
Email: mell.banez@lls.edu
Deadline for applications is June 23, 2008.
Commitment
Selection to the Vis Team is rewarding but very demanding! Students should expect to spend substantially more time than they would in a typical three-unit course. While not required, students are encouraged to take The Law of Sales – Domestic and International and International Commercial Arbitration if they have not done so already.
This year's problem will be released in early October. We will meet once the problem is released, and then may have several other meetings during the course of preparation of the Claimant's Memorandum which will be due in early December. Meetings are likely to take place on the weekends, as that is often the only time when there are no conflicts in terms of scheduling. Attendance at the meetings are mandatory. The team members will work together as a team to prepare the 30-page Claimant's Memorandum.
We will receive a Claimant's Memorandum from one of our opponents (most likely a team from a civil law country) in mid to late December and will meet regularly starting in late December or early January in order to prepare the Respondent's Memorandum that will be due in early February. The team members will collectively prepare the Respondent's Memorandum.
As soon as the Respondent's Memorandum has been submitted, we will begin practice arbitration hearings. There will be two or three practices per week, most likely on evenings and weekends. Additional practices may be held on Friday afternoons for those available.
This year's Vienna competition will be held April 3-9, 2009. The Hong Kong competition will be held March 22-26, 2009 [A final decision on whether we will compete in both Moots has not been made at this time.]
The Competition
Separate awards are given for the written and oral components of the competition in both Vienna and Hong Kong. The oral portion is in two parts. The first is a series of four preliminary rounds, most likely against teams from civil law countries (Europe, Latin America and Asia). Sixty-four teams will advance to the elimination rounds. This past year there were 205 teams from more than 50 countries. We can expect an increase in 2008-9.
Although there is no guarantee, it has been our policy to allow each team member to argue at least once in the preliminary rounds. Any student selected to argue more than once in the preliminary rounds will be eligible for the "best Oral Advocate Award" if the student(s) argues both the Claimant and Respondent side. A member of Loyola's 2000-01 team, Trevor Stockinger, was the first student from an American law school to have won this prestigious award.
Academic Credit
Three units will be awarded for successful completion of the Vis program, generally in the spring semester. The units are awarded on a "pass" basis (no number grade). Partial unit credit will not be awarded except in extraordinary circumstances, meaning that in order to receive any units; the team member must complete the entire program.
Reimbursable Expenses
Students will be reimbursed for their travel expenses up to $1,500 according to the terms of the LMU student travel reimbursement policy. Depending on the current exchange rate, this may not cover all expenses but, at a minimum, should cover airline travel and lodging. (Students participating in Vienna may receive a $100 supplement due to the unfavorable exchange rate.)
See Frequently Asked Questions for more information or contact Professor Bryan Hull, Bryan.Hull@lls.edu.