The University of Wisconsin International Commercial Arbitration Vis Moot team placed with distinction in the 2009 Willem C. Vis Moot Competitions held in Hong Kong and Vienna in spring 2009  Members of the Hong Kong team were Charlotte Bernard, Scott Dash, Hilary Edwards, and Bruce Harnitz.  Members of the Vienna team were Darcy Copeland, Brian Edstrom, Chris Smithka, and Nhu Tran.  Coaches were Lara Aziz, Sophy Chhun, and Maya Ganguly.

The two teams returned from overseas with multiple awards:

--The claimant’s brief, a collaborative effort of both teams, won an honorable mention award for Best Claimant’s Memorandum.

--The Hong Kong respondent’s brief won an honorable mention award for Best Respondent’s Memorandum.

--The Hong Kong team placed in the top 25% of all teams in the oral arguments, advancing to the final round of 16.

--The Vienna team placed in the top half of all teams.  

--Scott Dash, Bruce Harnitz, and Nhu Tran all received individual honorable mention awards for Best Oralist.

The Willem C. Vis competition is the world's most prestigious arbitral moot competition.  In its sixteenth year in Vienna and sixth in Hong Kong, the competition brings together nearly 300 schools from every major continent.  This year’s problem, used at both sites, centered around a contractual dispute between a car salesman, a now-insolvent distributor, and the manufacturer.

This was the fourth year that UW has participated in this competition.  Coaches for next year’s team will be Charlotte Bernard, Darcy Copeland, and Nhu Tran. 

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