St. John’s Jessup Moot Court Team Reaches Regional Quarterfinals

This weekend, St. John's joined 18 teams from law schools in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maine to compete in the northeast regional rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

According to the competition website, “Jessup is the world's largest moot court competition, with participants from over 550 law schools in more than 87 countries. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. . . . Teams prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case.” The mooted cases can cover issues such as human rights, treaty interpretation, international environmental law, the use of military force, and other aspects of public international law.

The St. John’s team of Cristen McGrath '18, captain Cory Morano '18, Mark Niedziela'18, and Erin Seery '18 participated in both the written pleadings and oral arguments. Another team member, Bryant Gordon '18, participated in drafting the written pleadings. With guidance from former competitors Laura Raheb '16 and Shaun Hiller '15, the team earned a 3-1 record in the competition’s preliminary rounds to advance to the quarterfinals. The student teammates are all members of the New York International Law Review.

St. John’s Jessup team is organized under the auspices of the St. John's Center for International and Comparative Law and is advised by Professor Christopher J. Borgen.