Lawyer suits, eye patches and peg legs, oh my!

KU Law 2014 Jessup International Law Moot Court team

Back in February, KU's international moot court team traveled to Denver, Colorado to compete in the 55th annual Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. The Jessup Moot Court competition is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from 80 countries and more than 550 law schools. The competition is based on a fact pattern that draws on contemporary international legal issues and themes.

This year, the problem focused on the law of the sea, and included pirates, artificial islands, and shipwrecks (oh, my!). I, along with my four other team members and Professor John Head, our faculty advisor, packed our nicest suits, eye patches, and peg legs, and took off for Denver University’s Sturm College of Law to compete in regionals.

The competition was fierce, and our team faced many worthy opponents. Our performance was based on our memorial submission, which took most of winter break to complete (hey, I can’t make Jessup sound like it is all fun and no work) and our performances during oral arguments. While our team did not advance to the international rounds this year, we did not come home empty handed. One of our team members, Ashley Akers, was a Top 5 Oralist at the competition and plundered a shiny new plaque from the high seas to show off around Green Hall. We also had the chance to make friends with students from the region, who were able to share in some of the highs and lows of the competition. (Please do not insert Colorado “Rocky Mountain High” joke here). Although it was an unofficial honor, our competitors graciously bestowed upon us the honor of “Best Team to Have a Beer With.”

When we weren’t facing off against competitors or making friends, we were enjoying Denver. Between rounds, we fortified ourselves with Qdoba and Snarf’s sandwiches, which became my local favorite. We also worked in some sightseeing and saw the very first Chipotle. Our team nearly passed out from all the excitement.

All in all we had a lot of laughs and worked our tails off. I could not be more proud of the team. It would have been great to advance to internationals and compete in Washington, D.C., but it sure tempers the sting of defeat coming home with a new plaque and having met some wonderful and incredibly talented new friends. Now if only Southwest could give Jon his luggage back, we could all retire our peg legs, fog machines, and pirate jokes, and resume our lives back here in Green Hall. Until next year!

Kasey Considine is a second-year law student and KU Law Student Ambassador from Boston.

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