The Final Moot. Finally.

We had made it. All of our hard work had paid off to bring us to this point. Andrew Butler had called to give the team some advice: "this is yours" was all he needed to say.

Katherine and David each began their individual pre-moot preparation. Katherine sat at the Respondent's desk and while listening to some soothing NZ music (thank you Fat Freddys Drop) prepared her final thoughts for Universal Auto Manufacturers S.A. David was nowhere to be seen in the banquet hall, but was in fact pacing quietly and running through his arguments (out loud, so yes, it was something of an odd sight). Richard provided Katherine with his final thoughts, and all the advice from the coaches, and messages from family at home were essentially that we own this, we can do it, we can take out this competition (the underlying message: don't co*k it up now guys!)

As Katherine and David were Claimant in the semi-final, and ILS respondent, we switched for the final. So ILS began the moot. It was an intimidating setting, not unlike the Showcase Moot held at Simpson Grierson some months previously. So like the showcase moot, no matter how many people are watching (over 1000 this time) it is just a matter of settling into listening to your opponent and figure out how to destroy their arguments (in the nicest way possible). Katherine began and put in an excellent performance. However, it must be said that as good as Katherine was, it was David that sealed the performance. David had two tough questions from one of the Arbitrators. These were very tough questions and certainly qualified as "trick" questions. But we had been working on these facts for the past 7 or so months. We know this case backwards, and David managed to show the Arbitral Panel that in those two questions. It was truly spell bounding. If Katherine had been unaware of the fact she was on stage in bright lights with 1000 people watching, she would have just turned around and stared agog at David. Truly the most spectacular moment in all of the moots we had completed.

so we finished the final ever moot on a high note, and went to enjoy some fresh air. Then it was time for the banquet dinner, at 3 in the afternoon, but inside a banquet hall there was no concept of time. We heard the announcements for best written memoranda (not for us sadly, we prefer style over substance it seems...) . And then the announcements of Honourable Mentions for individual speakers. Well done to David who picked up one of those. And then it was time for the final announcement. As luck would have it we were actually sitting at the same table as the ILS team. So our team held hands, and their team held hands, each hoping for very different outcomes.

Each of the three arbitrators gave the crowd their thoughts on the final moot. We don't know how long that took, probably only a few minutes, but for us it was an eternity. And then the announcement, from the President of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the winner of the 2009, Sixteenth Annual Vis Moot is...

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON!!

If you ask anyone from the team what happened in the minutes that followed the announcement, none of them could tell you. It was one of the most exciting moments in life, what we do know is that there was a lot of hugging.

We made it up to the stage and thanked the panel, and then David gave a very fitting acceptance speech. To sum up what he said, we do want to thank everyone for the support that they gave us during the competition, this includes:

• Our family and friends who didn't complain when we were living in the Law School building writing the memoranda.
• To the workmates who covered us when we had to take slightly longer lunch-breaks than technically allowed in order to fit in the practise moots.
• To our coach Richard, who gave up huge amounts of his time to come and watch us for almost every single practise moot, and who provided us with plenty of (constructive) criticism.
• Mike, for hosting us in Auckland, and for providing excellent comments and who also gave up huge amounts of time to help us in our charge to win the competition.
• To our respective workplaces, Simpson Grierson and Russell McVeagh who allowed us the time off to compete at the Vis moot.
• To Yana, without her we could not have got any of our administrative tasks done.
• To our fellow Victoria Vis mooties who gave up large chunks of their time in coming to and judging our practise moots. Special thanks to Catherine Harwood and Dan Watterson who we thrust into the deep end by making them be a part of the Vis Moot showcase. (And of course Arjun for feeding us very well on our whirlwind stop through London,)
• To all of the other judges that helped by coming along to our practises and providing extremely helpful feedback, thank you for giving up your time.
• To the German universities who hosted us, Munich, Freiburg, Bonn, Bucerius, FU Berlin, and especially those students from these universities who very kindly provided Katherine and David with a place to stay.
• The organisers of the pre-moots in Madrid, Belgrade, and Leuven.
• And finally, the biggest thanks of all has to go to the amazing, could not have done it without her, and without her there is no vis moot: Dr Petra Butler. Petra puts in absolutely huge amounts of time in getting us ready for the competition. She has never a cross word to say and is always so helpful for advice and thoughts on how to approach problems and issues that arise. She was there at 11.59 pm when the memoranda were due, and then treated us to drinks afterwards. She gives up so much of her personal time, time which is away from her family, to help us, and quite simply we would not have entered the competition, or go all the way to win it without her being a part of the team. So to Petra, we are so glad we won the competition, it has been a long time coming for Victoria University and we owe so much of our success to you. Thank you!!

The Final Day: dum dum duuuum

David and Katherine awoke to the realisation that this was the last day they would ever have to talk about faulty Tera cars and that poor Mr Tisk. Our first moot was against Kings College, which though a London based University, was actually a team made up entirely of decidedly french students, and were excellent competitors. As Katherine had promised to wear all black if we made it to the finals, she did. It was perhaps a little intimidating wearing the black, as the last team wearing all black had not done so well against the french...

We got into the room where the semi-final was going to take place. A good sized crowd had gathered, and we had managed to pick up some groupies/supporters along the way so we had some friendly faces in the crowd cheering us on. David and Katherine had to represent poor Mr Tisk in front of a formidable panel of leading arbitrators. It was a tough gig, but we managed to convince them that there was some merit in Mr Tisk's case. Of course, the team from King's College had an excellent time rebutting our arguments, and they did so very well. Our Arbitral Tribunal were very much up to speed on the issues, so we had some tough questions to respond to. But we did out best, and gave a really hard-hitting performance on behalf of our client.

We proceeded to the waiting area to hear the announcements of the finalists. It was an anxious wait, but as Katherine pointed out, either we had just done our final ever Tera car moot, or we were about to do the final ever Tera car moot, so the outlook was good regardless. The Panels came back and the other semi-final was announced first. If we were going through to the final, our opponents would be ILS Law College, Pune University. If you have read this blog carefully, you have just realised that our possible opponents were the same opponents who knocked us out of the Leuven pre-moot. So Katherine and David now had more reasons to be nervous.

As for whether we needed to be doubly nervous, the announcement came. The Panel said that Both Victoria and King's College put on excellent performances, but the team going through to the final would be... Victoria University! There was hugging all around, and then serious discussion set in, we needed to make out way out to the banquet hall where the final moot and then closing banquet would be held, and we needed to prepare our Respondent argument. It was about 11am, and we were on in less than two hours...

Four Pleadings in One Day (not unlike four seasons in one day)

Our finals day, (Wednesday 8 May) began with an 8am pleading against the University of Buenos Aires. This was a good moot, and Buenos Aries were a strong team. David and Katherine put forward an excellent case for Mr Tisk. The Arbitral Tribunal thought so too, and we proceeded through to the round of the top 32 teams.

We had found ourselves in a very tough bracket, and so our next opponents were the team from the University of Belgrade. We had met this team during the pre-moot competition in Belgrade and so we knew it was going to be a tough moot. Once again though, when your opponents are excellent, it gives you the opportunity to hit back with that much more force, and David and Katherine certainly did. However, it was a very anxious wait to find out which team would be progressing on for the round of the top 16. This was the longest wait that David and Katherine (and Petra, Richard and Mike) would wait during the competition, so it was evident that the two teams were very closely matched. Happily for us, we were announced as the victors and would proceed to the next round. It is fair to say though, that if Katherine and David had been knocked out, they would have been happy to go out against a team like Belgrade.

We had a very short break for lunch, and then it was a 2pm moot against Touro College Law Center. In a little back story, Touro beat out last year's Vic team of Arjun and Catherine, so we knew we were heading into a tough pleading. We know we have said this about every team we have pleaded against, but Touro were another excellent team, and it was another very good performance from both teams. Our Chairman for this round was Professor Martin Hunter, and he was very pleased to hear that Katherine was not in fact arguing for the application of the group of companies doctrine. That fact alone may have been the reason we managed to take victory and proceed to the quarter finals. However, it must be said that David was an absolute champion in this moots, that charming Irish accent hides the might of this future litigator.

On to the final moot of the day then. Lucky for Katherine and David their build-up to the competition saw them moot four and five times in a day, so they were well prepared for the long day that it had become. The final moot of the day at 5.30pm was against two very lovely ladies from Tulane University, in New Orleans. Katherine and David were respondents in this pleading, so we got to hear our opponents speak and then, funnily enough, respond. When the first speaker for Tulane began, the words of Justice Baragwanath rang loudly. The Tulane team were amazing. Seriously good, and so Katherine was a little intimidated. But, of course, as has been said many times already in this blog, good team = good response. This moot was Katherine's favourite. The Tulane team argued the case for Claimant exactly as we did. Accordingly, we had an excellent opportunity to tear down our own arguments, and we did. In a very sportsmanlike manner of course, but nonetheless, Katherine came out firing, and it was clear to all who were watching that this was a moot that would not be forgotten. David followed up on Katherine's excellent performance and we are pleased to say we sealed the performance and took out a win. Unfortunately, that did mean that we missed the final MAA party at the Empire club that night. The final is held on the Thursday before good Friday, so for most teams in Vienna, Wednesday night is the last opportunity to really get amongst it. For us, we had a quiet dinner and went straight home to bed for a very well deserved rest. The next morning we were against King's College in the semi-final, would we make it through to the final?

Vienna: the culmination of 7 months of work.

So, the team had arrived in Vienna. David and Katherine arrived in Vienna Wednesday night (1 April) and Richard and Michael (our coaches) arrived that same evening. It was a late night for all what with all that the team had to catch up on. And still, David and Katherine were on a mooting break (or ban) until Saturday, so it was well worth the late night story-telling.

The next day, Thursday, the team went shopping, and yes it was a shopping trip instigated by the boys, and Katherine bought nothing! (having already done her dash the day before in Leuven). We had lunch at a delightful little Italian cafe in downtown Vienna, and then went back to our apartment to await the arrival of the glue that holds the team together: Petra.

Thursday night was the official MAA (Moot Alumni Association) welcoming party at the home of the Vis Moot: Aux Gazelles. All the students had arrived in Vienna, and this was the chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones before the serious part of the competition began. It was a great night had by all, so the next day we travelled out to Schonbrunn Palace slightly worse for wear. But the visit to the palace is an annual event for the Victoria Vis moot team so it had to be done. Later that day was the official opening ceremony of the Vis moot. In true Victoria style we missed the actual official part of the ceremony and arrived just in time for the post announcement drinks and canapes. Of course, not a late event because our first official moot was the next day so we went home to bed fairly early.

Our first moot was against the University of Hamburg at 2.30pm on Saturday (4 April). Hamburg won the Dusseldorf pre-moot, and we had of course won the Madrid pre-moot so it was an excellent first moot for both teams. It is always good to moot against a strong team because it means that you have to be performing at your very best. In the words of Justice Baragwanath, if you get a hard question or hard team, all the better because it allows you to hit back with a greater velocity (like hitting a six in cricket). The schedule is arranged so each team has only one moot each day for the four days of general rounds. Unfortunately we did not have the afternoon "off", it was back home for the team to work on our performance, and the respondent's case in preparation for the second moot.

Our next moot was on Sunday at 10.30am, against Panamerican University, Guadalajara. Another very good team, so once again we had to be on top of our game. Our third moot on Monday was against Nicolaus Copernicus University of Poland at 8.30am(!) This was an early start for both teams, but we managed to deliver on the day. As we had had such an early start we found ourselves with the rest of the day free (sort of) so we took the opportunity to go to the Austrian Supreme Court and meet one of the judges. The Austrian Supreme Court is a beautiful building, rebuilt after a huge fire, now don't tell the Chief Justice, but they have a rooftop cafe and restaurant, where our host treated us to lunch! The team had the rest of Monday night off, in the aid of being refreshed and ready to go for what could have been our last moot of the competition.

Our fourth and final moot was against Stockholm University at 2pm. Stockholm were a fantastic team, and we have to say that we were very glad this was a knock-out round moot, because it would have been a verrry close decision. Tuesday night was the announcement of the teams that would be going through to the final rounds, that is the top 64 teams out of 233 that had competed in the general rounds would be going through. It was a nail biting wait, but we were one of the last teams to be announced as making it through to the top 64. We were very relieved to have made it through, and also that we were mooting the next morning, rather than at 8pm that night! So we scampered home and got stuck into the preparation for our moot against the University of Buenos Aires the next morning...

Leuven - the city, not the restaurant

Well the team made it to Leuven (just, but this is not the place for discussing team members antics that may or may not have held up entire planes) for the last pre-moot before the main event. Leuven is a lovely town just a short train ride away from Brussels, the hub of the EU. To provide you with a loose comparison, Leuven is the Paraparaumu of Wellington, but with a touch more history.

The first day of mooting went well, so well in fact that at the end of day one, the rankings put Victoria number one out of 16 teams. We were rather chuffed. Of course that meant that the next day involved more mooting in a knock-out round style. We made it right through to the "semi" finals, that is, the final 4 teams before the final of just 2 teams. Alas while David and Katherine mooted their little hearts out against the nicest opponents you will ever meet (ILS - India) the panel were impervious to our kiwi charms and we were knocked out. Don't tell David, but Katherine was pleased because it allowed her the chance to relax for the evening with an ice cream and watch the final moot. (A novelty of sorts, with only 2 team members, we cannot send members to watch other moots, so it was an interesting opportunity to sit in the audience and watch the process.)

Anyhoo, that was it for the pre-mooting stage of the competition. David and Katherine were to have a well deserved (and needed) rest before the real competition began in Vienna. Petra placed us on a mooting ban, that is no mooting, no discussion of the moot problem for 3 whole days! Needless to say Katherine regained her passion for mooting by indulging in some light retail therapy (new moot clothes were needed, having mooted 32 times in the same suit) and David by enjoying a very European lunch in Brussels with an afternoon lounging in a park. Katherine and David met up at Brussels airport for the flight to Vienna, and where the 8 months of long hard work, blood sweat and tears would (hopefully) pay off... (cue Rocky music)

Quick Update

Since touching down in Vienna, we've been all go. Suffice to say, things have gone well, and we've made it through to the semi-finals! Out of 233 teams, that's a pretty decent performance thus far, we're sure you'll agree ...

Rest assured we'll be updating the blog with more details of our adventures once we come down from the tremendous mooting high centred around Vienna's law school.

Viva La Belgrade

Fresh from the win in Madrid, Katherine, David, and Petra flew to the "city of the future of southern Europe": Belgrade. Of course we could not fly directly to the "city of the future", we needed to stop in London for 16 hours first. But that was no hindrance to us for we were able to catch-up with Arjun, a famed member of last year's Vic Vis team. Arjun provided us with an amazing dinner of red curry, salad and cous cous. Truly delightful. The stop in London also provided us with an opportunity to collect copious amounts of english newspapers so that we could catch up on world events.

Alas our time in an english speaking country was brief and we flew out to Belgrade (very) early on Friday morning. Although none of us spoke serbian, luckily we look distinctly "kiwi" so our driver taking us to the central city was able to identify us in the arrivals crowd. The apartment we were staying in was very nice, and was a welcome chance to do some much needed laundry.

But on to the real reason we were in Belgrade: the pre-moot. The Serbians had provided quite a pre-moot, we got t-shirts, pens, and notepads for a start. We were also able to attend a conference on arbitration that included some of the biggest names in international commercial arbitration and insolvency, not to mention Mr Vis Moot himself, Professor Bergsten. Needless to say, it was a very exciting chance to spot some of these legal celebrities.

Our first moot was against Singapore early on Saturday morning. That we made it to this hearing was impressive as Katherine managed to take a tumble on the stairs on the way to the moot, but like a real team player she mooted her little heart out. Singapore are a very good team with a very good reputation so it was a great first moot. We had two further moots that day, against Rijeka and then NAU Mexico (who had travelled 42 hours to get to Belgrade!) Petra and David represented the team at the social events that night while Katherine recuperated at home, which is unfortunate because the social events in Belgrade were very well catered for!

The next morning we had our final Belgrade moot against none other than the Belgrade team! Once again the Belgrade team lived up to their reputation and it was a great moot for us. Both teams got very good feedback, with one arbitrator telling us that both Belgrade and Wellington should easily make it to the knock-out rounds, but also reminded us that the Vis moot remains a competition, so there is always an element of luck involved, and furthermore, there must also be time for fun and meeting new people! So with that on board, we took a taxi back to Belgrade airport to get to the last stop on our whirlwind tour of Europe: Leuven.