Hamburgers and Berliners

Katherine and David left Bonn with a man named Felix and travelled north to Hamburg. We arrived in Hamburg and received directions from the central station to Bucerius Law school. By sheer genius David managed to get us on the right train. That we were on the right train was only established when we arrived at the stop we needed to be, up until that point we had no idea where we might be headed.

So, we arrived at Bucerius, and immediately got changed into appropriate mooting attire, and were presenting our arguments within about 11 minutes of arrival. However, the numerous moots we had completed thus far had prepared us for having to moot with little to no preparation, so away we went. Bucerius then kindly provided us with dinner before our second moot. Bucerius are a strong team and we had a good session with them. We must mention their hospitality too, Victoria University has a strong connection with Bucerius via the Vic Exchange program, so our hosts were delighted to have yet more kiwis in their midst!

The next morning David and Katherine caught a bus to Berlin. We arrived around midday and for once we had the afternoon free of mooting! A delight! Sad to say that we did not relish the opportunity to explore the delights of Berlin, but rather stayed indoors to work on our submissions for the pre moot the next day. You can't fault that dedication. Of course prior to the moots we had been invited to dinner at "White Trash" restaurant in Berlin. If you are ever in Berlin you simply must go there, the food is amazing, and for David and I was a special treat due to the range of veggie burgers. The team from Bocconi joined together with ourselves and the FU Berlin team for dinner and it was a lovely evening.

Early next day David and Katherine arrived at FU Berlin for what was to be the Everest of our trip: 5 moots, back to back. Claimant, Respondent, Claimant, Respondent, and then Claimant again. We had forgotten our names by the end of the day, but we did at all times know who we were representing, and that was a bonus. The day was a good learning curve in terms of stamina and really keeping on top of the arguments. We then headed out for dinner with all teams at a "traditional" Berlin kitchen, so needless to say there were not quite so many vegetarian options.

Katherine may have fallen asleep at the dinner table due to the 5 moots and little sleep, so unfortunately David and Katherine had to call it a night and not accompany the rest of the teams to an absinthe bar. In hindsight, definitely for the best. We then enjoyed Sunday by both exploring the city and watching movies - a "real" day off from mooting. But alas, no rest for the wicked. Next stop, Madrid (after Katherine proved to the the german airport security she was not a threat...)

Bonn!

Katherine and David took an early morning train from Freiburg to Bonn, arriving at 12.47pm (that's how the german trains run, to the precise minute - excellent for planning purposes). We were picked up by the Bonn coach, Jan, and our two Billets Antonia and Steve. For David it was a special day being St Patrick's Day, and even better as he found a kindred spirit in Steve, an englishman studying in Germany, so the two of them were to fully celebrate in usual fashion later that day. But first there was mooting.

The team from Cologne had travelled from Bonn to moot with us and the Bonn team, but as a special treat, Katherine and David got to act as the arbitrators in a Bonn v Cologne hearing. It was a great opportunity to see the process from the other side, and we certainly learned a lot from that experience. Katherine and David then mooted against the Cologne team, and after that it was time for a well deserved dinner with everyone. Katherine enjoyed the dinner and then went home at a reasonable hour, for David and Steve however, the night was only young.

The next day began with an early morning moot. Both David and Steve were perhaps a little worse for wear, but you would not guess it from the mooting that followed, as both were very professional, and convincing (though perhaps a tiny bit smelly). The Cologne team had left the night before, but were replaced by the Dusseldorf team for the second day of mooting. The Dusseldorf team were very sharp, both in terms of dress (having one half-italian member) and as a moot team.

With the mooting finished, everyone took a tour of the city of Bonn. It is a very peaceful charming city, and as the capital of (west) Germany until recently, a lot of infastructure remains, so, like Vienna, there is a strong UN contingent located in Bonn. The boys took in some of the more cultural sights of the city, while Katherine and the Bonn ladies took in a different kind of cultural delight, that is, the shopping of Bonn.

We had one final dinner with the Bonn team, where the insider jokes about the moot problem became more and more pronounced, to the point where even teams competing this year would have no idea why "piercing the corporate dolphin" would be even remotely funny. For Wellington and the Bonn team however, it will be forever ours. Katherine and David thoroughly enjoyed the time in Bonn, and meeting all of the Bonn team. But alas it was off in a shared car ride, with a man by the name of Felix in a red volvo, to the beautiful city of Hamburg where the team from Bucerius law school awaited our arrival...

Freiburg

We left Munich on the overnight train on Sunday midnight to be picked up at Freiburg station (very) early on Monday morning by Till, an old friend of Vic's past moot teams, who was now coaching the Freiburg team. He took us to our billetts, Alex and Dagna, where we could get ready for the day's mooting.

For those unfamiliar with it, Freiburg is a beautiful city close to the border with France and Switzerland with beautiful cobbled streets. Although the whole town was probably woken up by our early morning trundling suitcases!

The Freiburg moot saw us argue against the hosts twice, as well as Basel and Heidelberg, making four arbitrations in one day. While most of the other teams have at least four people pleading, we are only two, and it was a bit of a challenge to keep up stamina over the course of the day. Nevertheless, we made it through, and back to our billetts for a well-deserved 11-hour sleep!

The feedback we got on our presentations was really valuable, and not always positive, which is important, as we know we still have much to improve.

David's own personal favourite moment on the Freiburg trip took place at lunch, as he stared at the menu in seeming incomprehension, searching for a vegetarian option. One of the Heidelburg team's mooters took pity on the monoglot, and offered to order for him when the waitress came around. And when she did indeed do so, said mooter turned to her, indicating David, and enunciated in flawless English "he will have the pesto spaghetti, please". Well, you can't fault his good intentions, anyway!

Munich

So the great adventure begins, with our team touching down in Munich on Saturday evening. Thanks to the goodwill generated by last year's team, we were to be picked up and billetted by a member of the 2008 Munich team, Simone.

Our first little speedbump was how to identify ourselves to her in the crowded arrivals hall, since we had arrived early. Thanks to the ubiquity of both cellphones and american coffee stores, however, a quick text directed her to the airport Starbucks, where we lay in wait (in a jovial, excited sort of way, of course ...). Simone then proceeded to her abode to feed us up with Kaiserschmarnn and Obatzda, which for the uninitiated is mainly cheese and sugar - and was absolutlely fine by us!

Next day saw us moot before the Munich and Milan teams, the first time we had the chance to see what was in store for us at the competition proper. Suffice to say that ultimately there wasn't any time for nerves, as the proceedings promptly got underway, and we had no choice but to dive in. And thanks to the preparation we had done in Wellington before our departure, we acquitted ourselves reasonably well (ahem).

But the real value of this stage of our preparation soon became apparent, as both Munich and Milan teams showed us different ways of looking at the facts and legal arguments to those we had been advancing previously.

After the moot we all got exposed to another benefit of the pre-moot stage - the post-moot dinner, at the Ratskeller in the centre of Munich. Arjun and Catherine spoke a lot about the hospitality afforded them at last year's pre-moots, and its great to see that it wasn't just hyperbole!

A Vis Moot Showcase + Auf Wiedersehen

On Tuesday 3 March Simpson Grierson hosted a "Vis Moot Showcase" evening. The Showcase evening was held to raise awareness of the Vis Moot, and to highlight the legal issues that the competition is dedicated to; namely international commercial arbitration, and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (the CISG). The Showcase event kicked off with an introduction from Justice Glazebrook on the benefits of arbitration and the CISG. Dr Petra Butler of Victoria University's Law Faculty highlighted the value and importance of the CISG, and introduced her new text on the topic: UN Law on the International Sale of Goods. Dr Butler is also consultant Coach of this year's team, with Richard May as Coach. Professor Campbell McLachlan QC, another faculty member from Victoria University, then introduced his recently published, and prize-winning text: International Investment Arbitration.

Then it was time for the main event: a moot of this year's problem. The highly distinguished Arbitral Panel was made up of Justice Baragwanath, acting as Chair, Justice Glazebrook, and Professor Campbell McLachlan QC. At the conclusion of the moot Justice Baragwanath told those in attendance that, in order to fully prepare the team for the international competition, the speakers would be given a "rough ride" of questioning. That decision was readily apparent once Katherine and David began their submissions! However, both Katherine and David answered the judges' difficult questions succinctly and persuasively, without losing the flow of argument, and the feedback from the judges suggests that both are very well prepared for the competition. The Arbitral Panel then retired with the team to provide more detailed feedback on advocacy and the substantive issues.

Overall, the event was a great success and received an excellent turnout. We would like to thank Simpson Grierson for their support in hosting the event, and all those who attended, and in particular Simpson Grierson Partner, Tim Stephens and our distinguished Arbitral Panel.

Tonight Katherine, David, and Petra will be flying out of Welllington to start the Vis Moot adventure. We will reguarly update the blog so keep yourself posted!

preparation at home

One of the most rewarding aspects of being involved in the Vis moot has been the "extended family" of past mooters who have been more than willing to extend assistance as coaches, arbitrators, and sounding boards through the years. This year has been no exception, with a number of past mooters sacrificing their lunchtimes and evenings to sit as arbitrators for a series of practice moots that began immediately after our Respondent Memorandum was submitted. They have been joined by practitioners and academics who have been more than happy to provide insightful feedback and commentary on our presentation of the substantive arguments and general advocacy skills.

As if that all wasn't enough to prepare us for the intense experience awaiting us in Europe and Vienna, we had a surprise in store. Michael Cavanaugh, a past mooter now located in Auckland, arranged for us to travel up for the first weekend of March to present two practice moots before a partner and associate from Heaney & Co, as well as another former mooter, Martin Smith. The trip was a great chance for myself and Katherine to get used to travelling and working together, and we are very grateful to Heaney & Co for allowing us use of their meeting rooms over the weekend to debate, argue and strategise.

However, things may have got a bit much for me, as on the Sunday afternoon, I decided to embark on a quest to bring to life one of the slightly more eccentric characters from our moot problem, the erratic Mr Tisk, Mediterranean new and used car dealer, and Claimant in the dispute. I think you'll find the rendering appropriately chic ... (see picture below)

One down, One to go, and then some...

At midnight on December 5th the Vis Moot team of 2008-9 breathed a sigh of relief as our Claimant memo was sent off to Vienna.

We celebrated that first milestone with a quiet drink at the Malthouse on Courtenay place. For the next couple of weeks it was back to regular life, except for Katherine who jetted off to Europe for the first time.

We are all now back, and rearing to go in writing the Respondent memo. The Claimant memo that we are responding to is from Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Mexicans have provided us with some interesting and intelligent arguments, and the next week or so will be spent fine tuning our equally interesting and intelligent responses.

After the Respondent memo is sent off, at midnight next Thursday, we are launching head first into a gruelling practice moot program. We will be completing 3 practice moots per week; mooting in our lunch hours on Mondays and Fridays, and on Wednesday evenings. If you would like to judge any one of these practice moots do let us know!