The 2018 Moot Court team of Cody Batchelor (J.D. ’19), Karina Deochand (J.D. ’18), Caitlin Fox (J.D. ’18),and Casey Holloway (J.D. ’18) will represent Georgia State Law at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition in Vienna on March 23-30.
The competition, sponsored by international associations from all over the world, including the American Arbitration Association, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, is in its 25th year and attracts teams world-wide, including 362 teams from 82 countries this year. Georgia State Law will compete against the National University of Rosario, the University of Passau, the University of Bucharest and the Université Française en Arménie.
This year’s problem involves a breach of contract claim in an ad-hoc arbitration. The claimant is a manufacturer of fine bakery products; the respondent is a gourmet supermarket chain. Both parties are concerned with environmental sustainability. A breach of sustainable principles brought about the claim.
“I auditioned to join Georgia State Law’s Vis Moot team my second year,” Holloway said. “The opportunity to work with the arbitration center in the law school while also learning about international law was too good to pass up. Even though it was a lot of work, I learned so much from our coaches that I couldn’t imagine not competing again.”
The team is coached by Shelby Grubbs, managing partner of Miller & Martin’s Atlanta office, and Magaly Cobian, director of the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation at Georgia State University College of Law.
To prepare, the team wrote two briefs. “Although the briefs are substantial, they really help us to prepare because we write both sides of each issue,” Batchelor said.
The team participated in two pre-moots, including the pre-moot at Fordham University Law School in New York City. In February, the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration held a pre-moot at Georgia State Law.
“The Atlanta pre-moot was one of the best things I’ve done in law school,” Deochand said.
We hosted international arbitrators from all over the world, and they listened to us and gave us comments on how to improve. It was incredible getting feedback from some of the best arbitrators in the world.”
Judges at the Atlanta Pre-Moot included Glenn Hendrix, chair of Arnall Golden Gregory; Carita Wallgren-Lindholm, chair of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Commission on Arbitration and ADR; and Philip Engle, chair of the North American Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
For more information on the Vis Moot Program, contact Holloway at [email protected].