Law students reach world finals

A team of 10 Monash law students reached the finals of the Willem C Vis International Arbitration Competition in Vienna recently.

The competition was based on a hypothetical contractual dispute to be resolved through recourse to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna Convention).

Team member Mr Ben Ross said Monash reached the finals and was ranked ninth overall out of 78 universities.

The Monash team received an honourable mention for the best claimant memorandum (outlines the case's summary of arguments).

Fellow team member Mr Barry Lipp also received an honourable mention for best oralist.

Mr Ross said the result was the culmination of five months of hard work preparing for the competition, which required rigorous analysis and understanding of various international laws governing international transactions.

Faculty of Law senior lecturer Mr Judd Epstein coached the team and recruited leading international academics and practitioners in advocacy, arbitration and international law to help the students refine their oral skills in presenting their arguments.

The Law team was supported by the Monash Law Faculty, Arthur Robinson and Hedderwicks, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Minter Ellison, the Australian Advocacy Institute, the Law Institute of Victoria, the Victorian Bar, Monash Abroad and the Office of the Vice-Chancellor.

Law student finalists were, from left, Joseph Volpe, Melissa Laird, Luke Gattuso, Tansy Beer, Barry Lipp and Jennifer Blom. They are pictured here with senior law lecturer Mr Judd Epstein, Mrs Harriet Epstein and assistant lecturer Mr Ben Ross.