Law students top international contests
La Trobe University Mooting Team: From left, Harlis Kirimof, Nicholas Gangemi and James MacDonald, right, shown here with Tribunal President, Professor William Park, second from right.
La Trobe Law began the year with wins in two major international student competitions.
The University’s Mooting Team topped the prestigious Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot in Germany, defeating 27 teams from leading universities in the US, Europe and Asia.
In the final rounds of the Moot – which helps students develop expertise in one of the major growth areas of public international law – the La Trobe team beat City University Hong Kong, which came second, and six other universities including George Washington University and Georgetown University.
The three winning La Trobe team members are, from left , Harlis Kirimof, Nicholas Gangemi and James MacDonald, right, who were each awarded a three-week scholarship to The Hague Academy in the Netherlands. They are shown here with Tribunal President, Professor William Park from Boston University.
Mr MacDonald also won the prize for Best Advocate, a full-fee scholarship to do a Masters in International Arbitration at Queen Mary, University of London.
Another La Trobe Law student, Leigh Howard, was awarded ‘Most Outstanding Delegate’ at the 2009 Harvard University Model United Nations Conference held in Boston, USA, in January.
The four-day conference was attended by 2600 students from more than 30 countries, including Ivy League universities such as Yale, Chicago and Pennsylvania. It deliberated on issues of international concern, testing students’ negotiation skills and debating abilities.
Head of the La Trobe Law School, Professor Jianfu Chen, congratulated the students for their achievements and the international recognition they have brought to the University.
‘The University encourages and supports such events, both as a means of advancing students skills and helping them build professional networks in the increasingly important field of global law,’ he said.