Congratulations to the Case Western Reserve University School of Law Jessup International Law Moot Court team, which competed last weekend in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court U.S. Regional Competition.
Because of the virtual format due to the pandemic, this year there were three large U.S. regional tournaments instead of six, and all competing teams automatically advance to the International Rounds to begin in March.
The CWRU team picked up three top 20 oralist awards and a top 10 brief award. Oralists Elizabeth Safier and Sydney Warinner placed 2nd and 9th, respectively, in a highly competitive field of hundreds of oralists from all over the country.
The law school's Jessup team has a long history of success at both national and international rounds. The team won first place at the US Midwest Regional tournament in 2019 and 2020, and has advanced to international rounds each of the past four years.
This year's team members are: Captain Laura Graham (3L), Co-Captain Elizabeth Safier (3L), Oralist Sydney Warinner (1L), Oralist Natalie Eberts (1L), and Of Counsel Michael Eckhart (2L). The team is coached by Dean Scharf, with the assistance of a number of faculty and alums.
Update (April 8, 2021): The CWRU Jessup team went undefeated (8-0) in the International preliminary and International advance rounds, and was one of the top sixteen teams to advance to the elimination rounds of the Jessup World Championship. They are the highest ranked team from the United States and will be continuing their quest to recapture the World Championship Jessup Cup next week (CWRU was the last U.S. team to win the World Championship).
Update (April 12, 2021): On April 12, Laura Graham and Natalie Eberts, representing the Applicant, argued against the national champion team from Hungary, which had won the most recent Jessup World Championship in 2019. CWRU defeated Hungary by a score of 7-2, winning all the brief points and two of the three judges. The team next moves on to the “Sweet 16” as they continue their quest to return the Jessup World Championship Cup to CWRU.
Final Update (April 18, 2021): Although the CWRU Jessup Team did not advance past the Sweet 16, it took home several awards at the conclusion of the Jessup World Championship:
- 3rd best overall in the World Championship rankings;
- Dillard Award for the 17th best brief in the worldwide competition;
- CWRU's Elizabeth Safier was the 17th best oralist in the international advanced rounds.