Wayne Law's Jessup team earns honors at Midwest regional and international rounds

For the third consecutive year and the fourth time in the past five years, Wayne Law's team won the U.S. Midwest Regional of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and advanced to international rounds in Washington.

Team members for 2016-17 were Elaina Bailey of Taylor, Chancellor Sarah Cravens of Ann Arbor, Nicole Pitchford of Royal Oak, Aaron Shuman of Royal Oak and Adam Winnie of Taylor.

At the Midwest regional of the Jessup Feb. 9 through 12, Wayne Law topped the field of 19 law schools and took home third for its written submission. Individually, Bailey ranked 11th, Winnie ranked 16th and Pitchford ranked 23rd for oral advocacy. The team took on Notre Dame in the quarterfinals and Case Western Reserve University in a repeat of the semifinal showdown from the year before. In the final rounds, Wayne Law defeated Loyola University to ultimately be named regional champions.

The White & Case International Rounds of the Jessup competition were hosted on Capitol Hill April 9 through 15. The team earned the sixth best applicant memorial score and placed 14th overall for its written submissions "" the best memorial score Wayne Law has earned to date at the international competition. For the first time ever, Wayne Law had three team members place among the top 100 oralists. Bailey ranked 29th, Winnie ranked 48th and Pitchford ranked 78th out of more than 500 competitors. Wayne Law was the top team to go 2 and 2 and ranked 27th overall in raw score points, ultimately placing 48th.

The team faced off against four international schools: National Law University Odisha from India, Humboldt-University from Berlin, University of Geneva from Switzerland and Yerevan State University from Armenia.

"The Wayne Law Jessup team has had in incredible run of success," said Professor Greg Fox, Jessup team coach and director of the law school's Program for International Legal Studies. "I couldn't be prouder of the team's work ethic and their consistent high performance."

According to the International Law Students Association, 2016-17 marked the 58th year of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. Jessup is the world's largest Moot Court competition, with participants from more than 550 law schools representing 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. This year's problems concerned the utilization of transboundary groundwater, transboundary harm to natural and cultural heritage, possession rights of cultural property and the legal implications of migrant/refugee crises.

Jessup team

Photo:

2016-17 Jessup team members, from left, Nicole Pitchford, Adam Winnie, Sarah Cravens, Elaina Bailey and Aaron Shuman pose for a photo at the White & Case International Rounds of the Jessup in Washington.

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