Leiden University wins Plesner pre-moot in Copenhagen
On 8 and 9 March 2018, the Leiden University team travelled to the office of the Danish law firm Plesner in Copenhagen for the Plesner pre-moot. This pre-moot is a pleading competition in preparation for the 25th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. The Moot is the world's biggest and most prestigious competition for law students.
In a very close competition, the top-3 teams in this year's pre-moot were:
- Leiden University (the Netherlands)
- University of Fribourg (Switzerland)
- University of Southern Denmark (Denmark)
On Friday 23 March 2018 the Leiden team will travel to Vienna and compete against 362 teams from 82 countries. The main goal of the Moot is to promote 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 competition consists of two phases. Students sharpen their skills in writing memoranda for Claimant and Respondent, following this they participate in a challenging pleading contest. The whole competition lasts from October to March with the final pleading rounds in Vienna 23-29 March.
This year’s team consists of eight students and a student-coach, Lars Boersma, Jolieke Claessens, Pieter-Paul Elion, Olga Korneeva, Malou Le Graet, Larissa Leppännen, Yi Shen and Ana Flores. The team is coached by lawyers from Houthoff led by professor Marielle Koppenol-Laforce, Thomas Stouten, Matthew Brown and Alexander Rogers.
The Plesner pre-moot was a great start and great practice for the team. The quality of the teams and arbitrators were both outstanding, making the first place all the more rewarding. The Leiden Team is looking forward to representing Leiden University in Vienna!