If you attended the Grether Moot Court or Space, Cyber, and Telecom Law Club introductory meetings you heard 3L student Danielle Miller discuss the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition (competition website here: http://www.iislweb.org/lachsmoot/).
The competition is based on a hypothetical space law dispute before the International Court of Justice. Participating teams are required to submit a formal written argument for both the Applicant State and the Respondent State on the legal issues of the hypothetical case and to argue each side of the case before panels of judges in their respective region. The winning teams from each Regional Round meet in the international final rounds, which are held in conjunction with the annual IISL Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space. The Final Round is traditionally judged by three judges of the International Court of Justice. This unique feature makes the Manfred Lachs Moot Court one of the most prestigious moot court competitions in the world.
The competition will take place in late March/early April 2015 in Washington DC at the Georgetown Law College. The winning team will attend the International Rounds, as part of the IISL Colloquium, in Jerusalem in 2015. Travel costs are provided.
LL.M. student Nathan Johnson will be coaching the team this year. Professor Matthew Schaefer and myself will be assisting and handling competition logistics. Nathan has an extensive background in the subject area and has competed twice in this competition as a J.D. at GW Law. Nebraska Law has a strong presence in the competition, with many of our LL.M. alumni judging arguments and briefs (memorials). LL.M. alumni, and current J.S.D. student, Giugi Carminati is the now a regional organizer of the competition. We are very proud of Nebraska Law's history and involvement with this competition.
Applications are due by Monday October 20th at 5pm. Required documents should be submitted, together, to Elsbeth J. Magilton at elsbeth.magilton@unl.edu .
Requirements:
1. A writing sample to be used in evaluating skill in writing formal brief-style documents.
2. Participation in the in Grether Moot Court Competition in the Fall semester preceding the Manfred Lachs Competition, which provides a video recording of oral arguments. Students do not have access to their recordings, but with your permission I may request your recording. If you did not participate in Grether but are interested in this competition please contact me.
3. The attached application (and any addendum necessary to answer the questions therein) showing a background, work history, and interest in the subject area.
4. This competition is open to 2L, 3L, and LL.M. students. 1L students will be invited to sit in on our practice rounds.
We hope to announce the three person team, plus an alternate, by October 30th.
Please contact Elsbeth J. Magilton at elsbeth.magilton@unl.edu for more information.