Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot

Each year, Pace Law School – in conjunction with the University of Vienna – hosts the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in which students address a hypothetical business transaction which had gone wrong, and which parties to the dispute are trying to resolve through arbitration. Over 250 law schools from around the world participate in this competition.

For the team from New York Law School, the Vis competition is a year-long project-based learning course (two credits per semester) taught and coached by Prof. Lloyd Bonfield (who is Director of the Center for International Law), and which is graded on a pass/fail basis. (There is a possibility to receive a "Pass with Distinction.") To participate in the Vis competition, students must enroll through the Registrar's office. (For general information on project-based learning courses, click here.)

The course prepares the team for the Vis competition. Students must submit a brief in December 2013, a reply brief in January 2014, and then participate in the moot in Vienna, Austria, in March or April 2014. (Not all students will attend the moot in Vienna.) Students are assigned issues that emerge from the problem. Although each student is responsible for producing a part of the brief, research is collaborative. Each student critiques the sections produced by other team members. Likewise, students will also critique each other's oral presentation before the actual competition.